Three years into their Nina Ricci residency, Lisi Herrebrugh and Rushemy Botter are amping up their message. “We feel like it makes sense only when we can truly be ourselves, in design and what we stand for. We feel like we have the freedom to do that,” Herrebrugh said during a preview in Paris. Botter concurred: “This is the most personal collection we’ve done here.” Their new line of attack materialized in exceedingly bold propositions derived from the designer couple’s love of diving culture and their devotion to the sea: tailoring with cut-outs and wavy lines informed by vintage dive suits layered over fishnet knitwear and millefeuille of fluo viscose dresses and tops, with diving belts, swim caps, wetsuit shoes and flipper handbags.
It’s a niche aesthetic that will divide the waters, but one that the designers and the house’s parent company, Puig, are invested in. “The group is saying, ‘Go for it.’ They really love what we do at Botter, so it feels natural to do it here,” Botter said, referring to the couple’s own brand, which carries his surname and which landed them the Nina Ricci job in the first place. The approach is intentionally radical: graphic concoctions made for a kind of statement dressing that isn’t for the timid, and a look that is truly particular to Herrebrugh and Botter at a time when so many brands churn out similar pieces. That, of course, also makes it particular to a very specific customer.
If wearing Nina Ricci historically called for a romantic constitution, this is certainly a more intense flirtation. So was the message the designers wanted to convey with a collection film that saw models walking through screens projecting imagery of oceanic decline and melting icecaps. “We’re a little bit done with speaking about collection themes and that kind of stuff. At Nina Ricci, we should reflect the time we’re in. We are so obsessed with the preservation of the oceans,” Herrebrugh said. “People are talking about getting out of this pandemic, but then making something comforting to dream themselves away. But we think it’s time for people to open their fucking eyes and see what’s going on,” Botter added.
With statements like that comes responsibility. The duo, who run a coral nursery in Curaçao, said Nina Ricci’s road to sustainability is a work in progress. “We are pushing and fighting and going in the right direction. It’s easy to show a façade, but it’s more important to change from the inside out. And that takes time,” Botter said. “We could do this marketing thing, but we’re very honest designers and we don’t wanna play that game.” The couple’s fighting spirit was no doubt fueled by a new addition to their lives: their four-week-old daughter, Scully, named after a very special agent. “The idea that she has to live in this world for so much longer than us, it’s kind of scary. It makes you worry about a lot of things,” Herrebrugh said. Botter nodded: “Less bullshitting around, let’s say.”
