“It became this weird punky dream event,” Batsheva Hay said of her spring collection, which felt right at home inside New York’s famed Serendipity3, where its signature frozen hot chocolates were being served to showgoers leading up to showtime. Since the brand’s inception, the designer’s fashions have gathered a cult-like following; for spring, she delivered signature naive femininity with a bit of unexpected, exciting sass.
“I wear [Batsheva] all the time so it felt like walking around a weird ice cream shop and it was fun, we had a great time. My kid walked, too,” actress and friend of the designer Busy Philipps said of her and Birdie Philipps’ runway modeling debut.
“I really felt at home because I wore a wig, and I’m amongst the most idyllic scenery,” Chloe Fineman of “SNL” said of the show’s high, ‘60s-style beehives (her castmates Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner also walked the show). “I’ve been a huge Batsheva fan forever. I got my first dress of hers years ago, I have acquired my little collection over the years. I’m a big fangirl of hers, so it was an honor.”
The look: Sweet whimsy, with just a touch of edgy, punk angst.
Quote of note: “Once I picked the venue, I started getting very excited about the memories I have of this venue because I grew up in New York. I had a birthday party here when I was a kid, it was very much a part of my life. My husband also grew up in New York and had a birthday party here. It’s one of these spots that I was like, ‘Did it make it through the pandemic? If it’s still around, can we use it?’ In my clothes is always this childish, naive playfulness — sweet — so putting together memories of childhood, playing dress up in childhood. What would the eight-year-old me, sitting here at a birthday party, what would I want to wear?”
Key pieces: Batsheva’s signature, nostalgic house dresses and separates were amped up through velvet fabrications (a sheer black rendition with burnout polka dots or an acid green, caped number), a juxtaposition of sweet pastels against shocking brights (a fluorescent pink mini topped with a gilded quilted vest; the three liquid gold, silver and black gowns that closed the show), and hand-dyed tie-dyed tights, stretched over the toe for a bootie effect. Also, quilted vests and crocheted knits (a stellar black-and-white cardigan or a single jumper).
The takeaway: Batsheva’s collection offered her take on modern femininity in fun, fresh ways.
