In Batsheva’s Pre-Fall 2019 lookbook, designer Batsheva Hay’s clashing-print frocks, smocks, and tunics transform Coco Rocha into characters and caricatures of herself. In one photo she’s framed by a fan of legs in black tights and stilettos. In another she’s in the bodega with a bowl cut and pinafore. In a third, Rocha has an enormous head and tiny body, somewhere between a Downsizing version of herself and a Bratz doll. On the surface it might seem like more of the same from Hay, but with this collection the designer is taking the Batsheva brand to new places.
Having participated in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and dressed celebrities from Natalie Portman to Mandy Moore this year, Hay has begun to evaluate of the realities of her business. Her Pre-Fall collection is thus merchandised in orderly groups to appeal to retailers and also introduces new silhouettes and separates. The first section is composed of childish printed pieces in custom ’70s-tinged patterns. There’s a cute tent dress with contrast floral prints and a button closure on the shoulder; a vaguely ’40s skirt suit with a flared hem and peplum top; and a trompe l’oeil smock dress in Raggedy Ann gingham and swirly florals. There are even pants. Hay, who mostly adheres to Orthodox Jewish mandates of dress, has begun to think about modesty outside her own religion—Muslim women often wear pants under abayas; shouldn’t they have the option to do so in a red tiny-dot print?
Elsewhere, Hay expands on these shapes but in solid colors intended to clash: peach with egg blue, wine with forest green, coral and icky brown. The last group in rich jewel-tone velvets and leopard prints is arguably the most mainstream of Hay’s offering. It would be inaccurate to call these pieces practical, at least compared to jeans and T-shirts, but they do represent a streamlined, function-driven approach from Batsheva. For the woman adverse to blending in, these will be a fantastic reality.
