Fashion Police at Fashion Week
Joan Rivers takes Fashion Police to Badgley Mischka and weighs in on WhitneyHouston's death
Joan Rivers and Kelly Osbourne on the front row at the Badgley Mischka show.Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
The Badgley Mischka fall collection features a lot of gold and black.Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
Joan Rivers interviews two fashion fans in front of Lincoln Center duringMercedes-Benz Fashion Week.Photo by Clifford Pugh
NEW YORK — Just before the lights went down at the start of the Badgley Mischka show Tuesday morning, the paparazzi went into overdrive as a celebrity walked down the runway to slip into her seat. There was such a frenzy I thought it might be Beyoncé or one of the stars of Gossip Girl.
But when the crowd parted and the tiny bottle-blonde edged into her seat, it turned out that the "it" girl was Joan Rivers. The 78-year-old star of E!'s Fashion Police brought her show to fashion week and took in the unveiling of the fall collection of Mark Badgley and James Mischka, the duo known for creating red carpet gowns.
"I told my grandson, you take drugs this is what happens," Rivers said about Whitney Houston's death. "There is no happy ending."
The designers sent out a lot of sparkly gowns with plunging backs and peek-a-boo cutouts. Some of the gowns oozed old-style Hollywood glamour while other ensembles, like a gold lamé pants and pajama top, looked like a candidate for the show's "Starlet or Streetwalker?" segment.
But backstage after the Badgley Mischka show, both Rivers and Kelly Osbourne, who appears on Fashion Police and viewed the collection at Rivers' side, had nothing but nice things to say about it.
"It was Scarface meets silent movies," Osbourne said. "I loved it."
Osbourne added that she never wears white, but she broke her rule when she recently wore a white gown designed by Badgley Mischka to the SAG Awards. "They make you feel like a princess," she said.
Rivers, who was mobbed by admirers backstage, judged the show "fabulous." She said, "Let's get women looking glamorous again. Life is tough. Life is short. So throw on a couple of beads and look like a movie star."
But the comedienne turned serious when asked by reporters about Whitney Houston's death. The E! channel pulled a repeat of last week's episode, in which Rivers and her co-hosts criticized Houston's wardrobe during a recent public appearance before her death.
Rivers said she wouldn't sugarcoat the fact that she believes drugs were, at the very least, a contributing cause to Houston's death at 48. "I told my grandson, you take drugs, this is what happens," Rivers said. "There is no happy ending."
And she vowed she wouldn't change her caustic comedy style.
"If Angelina Jolie died tomorrow, I'd still say she was anorexic," Rivers said.
Afterwards, Rivers and her camera crew hung out outside of Lincoln Center, handing out fashion citations to offenders and interviewing stylish dressers. The episode will air on Feb. 24, a Fashion Police producer said.
