It’s so great to have that feedback and to get real customer opinion.”Īlongside pivoting her brand to respond to the challenges of the past few months, there’s a particular moment during lockdown which stands out for her-and it’s fittingly sentimental. Sometimes I’ll change patterns if I see customers come in and say that they don’t like where this hits them. “I’ve had a couple of pop-ups before, and it’s so interesting for me to figure out what people are responding to and to learn little things.
“I’m still so New York I have my whole base here, and I really like having a direct relationship with customers in person,” she explains. There are the predicted drops in rent for retail units post-pandemic, of course, but more importantly, there’s Hay’s ongoing wish to build a sense of community around her brand-something that now feels more essential than ever. One facet of the business that was put on pause as a result of the pandemic was her first store, yet despite the gloomy state of fashion retail currently, a physical direct-to-consumer space is something that Hay sees as a key element of Batsheva’s future.
The number of projects Hay has embarked upon over the past few months is impressive enough, but she’s somehow also found the time to reflect more deeply where she would like to take her four-year-old brand next. There’s still anxiety, but there’s nothing worse than being anxious and not having anything to do, so at least things are busy.” “Now that factories have reopened, at least there’s more to do. “During the most serious months of lockdown when we couldn’t get into the office, it was just a matter of trying to get as much inventory as we could ship for orders and staying afloat,” says Hay, now happily back in her Midtown studio. Like all of us, however, there was one thing Hay most certainly could not predict: the devastation of the current pandemic on small fashion businesses. Yet Hay’s continued success, whether through her ever-growing list of celebrity fans, including Courtney Love and Christina Ricci, or reaching the finals for the 2018 CFDA/ Vogue Fashion Fund, pays testament to her shrewd ability to parlay that initial interest into a broader offering, now encompassing everything from accessories to childrenswear. Since launching her namesake label in 2016, Batsheva Hay’s ascent to becoming one of New York’s buzziest-and most genuinely beloved-emerging brands is founded on her prescient instinct for what would become one of the biggest trends of the past few years: the prairie dress.
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