Women over 40 inspire Batsheva’s new collection: ‘What it means to be invisible’
What does it mean to “dress your age”? Up until recently, Batsheva Hay wasn’t quite sure.
When the New York fashion designer launched her namesake label nearly a decade ago, she was in her 30s, had just given birth and dressed differently than she does now at 42.
It wasn’t until she hit 40 that she felt a “shift” in herself and her wardrobe.
“I feel like as I’m growing and evolving, the fashion industry isn’t necessarily loving women who are aging,” she told The Post in a press interview backstage.
She’s no longer “preoccupied with being young, with being cool,” and while she never was to begin with, she approached her latest collection as a reflection of that new season of her life — by casting women over the age of 40 at her latest show, including actress Molly Ringwald.
Her decision is not the first of its kind, but it is exceedingly rare to book an entire ensemble of women of a certain age. Historically, middle-aged women were pushed out by up-and-coming teenagers and 20-somethings, and if they did appear on the catwalk, there was only one.
Instead, Hay set out to “create a picture of what it means to be like an invisible woman in the fashion world, which is someone who’s not young:” hoods, capes and “grown up” fabrics that are “shiftable” and have stretch for comfort, such as velvet.
“I think a lot of the shapes were more covered and more dramatic, but in a sort of dignified way, not in a like ‘I’m trying to be cool’ way,” she explained.
Set to a whimsical melody by a live string quintet, the Fall/Winter 2024 collection was equal parts provocative and distinguished with a touch of humor: high necklines contradicted by sheer fabric to reveal the models’ undergarments, a semi-opaque polkadot shift paired with a comically large bow dangling from the neck, a tongue-in-cheek sweater adorned with the word “HAG” across the chest.
Model Birgitt Doss, 67 had hoped to see more aging women on the catwalk — and “in underwear.”
While speaking with the New York Times last month, Doss was undergoing measurements ahead of the Feb. 13 show, as her underwear was on display beneath the lace Batsheva frock.
“I feel so much freer now,” she explained. “At 25, I was like, ‘no!’ “
While some of the Batsheva beauties, like Doss, had modeled before, other were cast on the street— lawyers, artists, poets, friends of Hay’s employees — and had become so accustomed to invisibility that being plucked from the masses seemed “very surprising,” Hay told the Times.
The once invisible women were painted in screaming color, wearing garments in vibrant red, mint green, electric purple or adorned with playful bows, dazzling sequins, stripes or animal print.
After an opening dance number from Lori Belilove, founder and artistic director of the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation & Company, Ringwald waltzed down the runway in a black velvet shift with a hood and matching hand muff. She later appeared in the procession donning a royal purple dress with a high neck, puffed shoulders and a sensible hemline that hit just below the knees, seemingly paying homage to her heyday as an ’80s “It” girl when appearing in “16 Candles” and “The Breakfast Club.”
In her exploration of how to dress without feeling like “you’re gone,” Hay found that sometimes the inconspicuous allows for the most creative freedom.
“One of the things about being forgotten or invisible is that you can also just do whatever you want, and so it’s kind of fun actually,” she told The Post.
