This NYFW Show Paid Homage to Courtney Love
Fashion

This NYFW Show Paid Homage to Courtney Love

Batsheva Hay, a 2018 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist, makes prairie dresses, with puffy sleeves and ruffled hems. Hay's eponymous line, Batsheva, is famous for kicking off a prairie trend, one that embraces sweetness and modesty. She is inspired by Amish and Hasidic garments; her pieces conceal every patch of skin above mid-calf. Hay's presentation last season stayed on theme, with a takeover of a diner in TriBeca where models served milkshakes and french fries. But for her fall 2019 offering, Hay took an entirely different tack: an homage to the ultimate bad girl, PAPER cover star Courtney Love.

Love was the only seated guest at Hay's presentation, a guest of honor on a couch. The event took place in an old shoe store on West Broadway, and kicked off with the actress Christina Ricci, herself a princess of darkness (she is, after all, Wednesday Addams) reciting lines from the Hole classic "Doll Parts." The proceeding models read other Love lyrics before descending a staircase. For the finale, model Esther McGregor (Ewan's daughter), wore a wedding dress with words scrawled over it in lipstick. She sang a rousing version of "Miss World." Love sang along and looked delighted, like she was truly the girl with the most cake.

As Guest of a Guest's Stephanie Maida pointed out, it's not really so strange that Hay would enlist Love for her show. Love's pioneering '90s grunge style, dubbed kinderwhore, included a vast collection of Lolita-like baby doll dresses, all torn ruffles and stained frills. It was an ideal tribute.

Batsheva

Lead photo courtesy of BFA / Collection images courtesy of Imaxtree