Facts About Rushemy Botter, Creative Director of BOTTER and Nina Ricci
Let us introduce you to designer Rushemy Botter. Along with his other creative half Lisi Herrebrugh, the two founded a menswear BOTTER that draws inspiration from both designer’s Caribbean roots and recently the duo became the Creative Directors for French fashion house Nina Ricci. This grand appointment —along with their work for Botter— will make Botter’s and Herrebrugh’s names and presence skyrocket within industry circles in the same fashion that Monse’s Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim experienced when they joined Oscar de la Renta. Rushemy Botter appointment as designer at Nina Ricci is especially groundbreaking being a man of color at the helm of a French fashion house. We’re sure you’ll be seeing Botter’s name a lot in the near future so behold, 7 facts on the emerging design talent.
1. He's from the islands!
Botter was born on Curacao, one of three Dutch-Caribbean islands off the coast of Venezuela. Along with Aruba and Bonaire islands, the three bodies of land have earned the nickname, A-B-C Islands.
Source: lvmhprize.com
2. He's the founder of a menswear label.
In 2017 after graduating from Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium Rushemy launched his namesake menswear line, BOTTER with partner Lisi Herrebrugh.
Source: refinery29.com
3. He showed a runway collection under VFiles.
While he was a student at the Royal Academy, Botter presented a Fall collection through widely respect fashion platform, VFiles. His AW16 collection entitled, "MY PATCH IS MY HEART" was a lineup of avant-garde streetwear. Models hit the runway with "enemy of corruption," "enemy of lies," and "enemy of terrorism" phrases attached to bucket hats and as patches on separates.
Source: vfiles.com
Rushemy Botter AW16Collection: “MY PATCH IS MY HEART” Source: vfiles.com
4. If you live in L.A, you can buy BOTTER in stores.
According to the brand's stocklist page on their official website, H.LORENZO in Los Angeles carries the emerging menswear brands. Internationally you can buy BOTTER at Smets in Brussels, Belgium, The Icon in Kiev, Ukraine, and Henrik Vibskov in Denmark, Copenhagen.
Source: botter.shop
5. His menswear line is award-winning.
Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh won the top prize at Festival d’Hyères’s Grand Prize, the oldest fashion competition that started in 1985. The winnings included a monetary award of 15,000 euros, a collaboration with Chanel’s Métiers d’Art division on a project of an equivalent amount, and a grant worth 10,000 euros from Petit Bateau. The two were also 2018 LVMH Prize finalist for their work with BOTTER.
Source: vogue.com, thecut.com
6. He's the first black designer for the house of Nina Ricci
Botter and Herrebrugh Creative Director's appointment at Nina Ricci makes Rushemy Botter the first African-American man to hold the title. The duo immediately succeeds Guillaume Henry and join a long list of talented designers to hold the position including Nathalie Gervais, Peter Copping and Olivier Theykens.
Source: harpersbazaar.com
7. He's collaborated with Nike on a sneaker.
For the SS18 season, his menswear brand teamed up with Nike for shoe collaboration. The BOTTER x NIKE was a Vapormax hardbottom shoe hybrid in a Navy Blue/Dark Brown colorway.
Source: paper-journal.com