It was a little over a year ago that Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh won the top fashion award at the Festival d’Hyères, which helped set in motion their appointment at Nina Ricci last August. Although they have had some time to settle in (and produce two collections), today’s visit to the Avenue Montaigne showroom revealed the extent to which they are putting their personal stamp on the maison. For the temporary set-up of their Resort collection, they’ve stationed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a Buzz Lightyear figurine from their office among the art books, while wild floral arrangements (from florist du jour, Debeaulieu) echo colorful vintage furniture. These playful touches feel disruptive in a warm, welcome way. Likewise, as they continue their sharp break from the previous design direction, you get the sense they’re doing so respectfully.
Before browsing the clothes, they explain how their distinct perspective of womenswear (previously, the duo had only designed men’s) is “getting to shine more and more each season.” They’ve adjusted their tailoring, preserving the architectural, 360-degree angles while introducing more swing and lightness. In general, the rounder, the better—where a two-tone style (black from the back; off-white from the front) could have been less triangular, the curvy couture shape of another was unequivocally chic. And if you’re wondering, the shapely raffia hats are their way of completing these statements.
In parallel was the knitwear development, which showed not only their acute eye for color—call it an alternative rainbow—but also the ease they envision for Nina Ricci. They created a high-neck dickie embroidered with “Nina” expressly for wearing under the jackets as a total look, while other knits were pleated or draped as flattering standalone pieces. Herrebrugh singled out a poplin corset over a striped sheath as their notion of day-to-night dressing; from a technical perspective, it suggested that they are still reconciling tailoring and flou.
In the meantime, they deserve credit for rethinking the Nina Ricci lady in today’s terms. “Ladylike,” after all, is so steeped in preconceptions—visual or otherwise. And in reimagining a brand whose best-selling perfume is called L’Air du Temps (“of the moment”), they seem certain that things need not be so fussy. “Gestures with a minimalist approach,” was how Botter summarized their efforts so far. Let’s see where they take us next.
