Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh have now completed a full collection cycle at Nina Ricci. In the course of these four seasons, they have transposed the fresh tailoring skills from their own menswear brand to feminine shapes that draw from the house archives. They have introduced a stylized cloche hat in classic and expressionist colors that is arguably their strongest signature. And they have established that Nina Ricci’s emblematically romantic spirit is not really their jam.
Or, at least, that’s not where their heads are at right now in what remains an experimental phase. Calling their runway shows their “creative laboratory” and the pre-collections their “wearable laboratory,” they repeatedly referred to the process of “pure-ing out” both the preexisting codes and their personal instincts. “We have crazy ideas, so pure-ing them out becomes a nice challenge,” Botter said.
They doubled down on cocoon coat silhouettes and angular suit constructions that they believe should be easy and pleasurable to wear. Several jackets featured lower edges that folded in on themselves without adding unnecessary volume. Several plush knits boasted rounded backs. The redesign of what they call the “Nina collar” (essentially an exaggerated split funnel neck) on an LBD was flattering and unfussy. And you can see how they repeat these ideas over and over again in order that ideally, everything starts to become a Nina something-or-other.
They proved they could do this with the polo shirt, now the Botter signature, and its appearance as a crisp blouse and fine-gauge viscose knits is where you see the overlap of their worlds. What you’re likely waiting to see is how the designers can close the gap between their spirited, quirky sensibility and their stricter, architectural leanings—and how much more time they need to get there.
