[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] In “Nina Ricci Has Hired Two New Creative Directors,” Erin Cunningham (Refinery29) reports on design duo Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh, who will now be the artistic directors of Nina Ricci in Paris. Herrebrugh has always traveled back and forth between The Netherlands and the Dominican Republic, since her mother is Dominican and her father is Dutch; Botter was born on Curaçao. Vogue writes: “Inspired by their Caribbean origins and their childhood spent in Europe, the duo also take part in environmental conversations, such as industrial fishing which is exhausting the seabed and destabilizing economies in small fishing communities.” Here are excerpts from two articles:

Cunningham writes: Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh, the design duo behind buzzy Dutch menswear label Botter, have been named the new artistic directors of Nina Ricci, WWD reports. The two will replace Guillaume Henry, who left the company in March after three years (yes, the three-year curse is alive and well). Botter and Herrebrugh will be relocating from Antwerp to Paris and will present their first collection (pre-fall 2019) for the French fashion house later this year. Their first runway show will be fall 2019, shown during Paris Fashion Week in March.

“We are very honored to be a part of this fantastic project,” Botter and Herrebrugh said in a press release. “We feel very inspired by the fresh and subtle codes that make Nina Ricci such a beautiful ode to femininity. We aim to create a new spirit, a spirit of our times: effortless, sophisticated and strong.”

In an interview with WWD, José Manuel Albesa, president of brands, markets and operations at Puig, the Spanish conglomerate that owns Nina Ricci (as well as Carolina Herrera, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Paco Rabanne), noted that Botter and Herrebrugh will bring “a big dose of coolness” to the 86-year-old label.

Here are excerpts from Vogue’s interview of Botter:

Who is the Botter man?
He is elegant, dynamic, proud, sensible and concerned with the environment and people around them.

What strikes you about the way young Caribbean people dress and how does it inspire you?
We love their unique way combining colors and pieces that at first glance look incompatible. They love fashion and want to be fashionable, and we see their faults as inspiring beautiful accidents.

What are three sources of inspiration that have shaped your vision?
A tribute to our roots, respect to the heritage of fashion history, and our look on the world as it is today.

[Photo above by Leon Mark. Courtesy of Nina Ricci for Refinery29, https://www.refinery29.com/2018/08/208592/nina-ricci-artistic-directors-rushemy-botter-lisi-herrebrugh.]

For more about Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh, see https://www.refinery29.com/2018/08/208592/nina-ricci-artistic-directors-rushemy-botter-lisi-herrebrugh, http://www.lvmhprize.com/designer/botter and https://en.vogue.fr/vogue-hommes/fashion/story/vogue-meets-lisi-herrebrugh-and-rushemy-botter-the-duo-just-named-as-artistic-directors-at-nina-ricci/2059