Badgley Mischka's Riviera Reverie (Fashion Wire Daily)

New York - Sometimes Cruise, or Resort, collections have little to do with warm weather vacations in exotic locals during the cold winter months following the purchase of ones fall wardrobe - its simply a retail signifier that new merchandise will be hitting the floor pre-spring.

But Badgley Mischkas Cruise 2009 collection, which designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka presented on Tuesday afternoon, June 10, during an intimate runway show in their New York office, epitomized glamour on the high seas, particularly the kind that might be found sunbathing on a yacht in a Riviera harbor circa 1955.

Grace Kelly and her mid-fifties films "Mogambo" and "To Catch a Thief" inspired the collection, said Badgley, but a disco-era Grace - Jones, that is, would be another apt comparison, with all the criss-cross chiffon halter neck and lamé gowns making up the bulk of the duos signature pieces. The collections daywear section opened with a series of tropical prints in lush colors like jade, grape and mango adorning a cowl neck chiffon dress, a bikini and a raincoat. Smart, tailored safari jackets followed, along with a couple of leopard print pieces.

Eveningwear, Badgley Mischkas mainstay, was less focused, with looks ranging from bohemian caftan-like dresses to empire-waisted chiffon gowns in citrusy colors on the warm end of the color wheel to the aforementioned disco dolly numbers, but when youre dressing stars for the red carpet, variety isnt a bad thing.