Batsheva Hay on her 'vision board' goal of becoming this generation's Laura Ashley

Batsheva Hay has found success in the fashion industry by simply making what she likes. In 2016, she launched the dress brand Batsheva, which has seen accelerated growth since the start of the pandemic.

“I didn't set out to get into fashion at all,” Hay said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “I was actually a lawyer … and quit my job. And then I got excited to get dressed again in the way that I wanted, which included wearing lots of vintage clothing. I kept on going back to this thrifted Laura Ashley dress that I was just wearing to shreds… I found a pattern maker to remake it, but by that point, I’d changed [the concept] so much that it became a whole other Frankenstein creation. And that was the start, in my head, of wanting to make more.” And thus, Batsheva was born.

Luckily for Hay, her original concept proved to be popular during the pandemic. “At first, [everyone] was all about wearing sweatpants, sweatpants, sweatpants,” she said. “But then I started this idea of the house dress, or a printed dress that’s really cozy for home. And that's become a huge chunk of my business.”

Batsheva hit a lot of radars when Ella Emhoff, Kamala Harris's stepdaughter, wore the brand to the 2021 inauguration. According to Hay, the resulting brand awareness worked wonders to drive sales: “I didn't know that it would be so huge. I got a big sales boost from it that I was not really prepared for.”

Since, Batsheva has collaborated with brands including Anna Sui and expanded to new categories including furniture. Next, though she’s never taken in outside investment, Hay is considering fundraising as she works toward becoming this generation’s Laura Ashley. “That's what I’m hoping for,” she said of the goal. “That’s on my vision board.”