As a brand renowned for its individuality and eco-friendly designer process, Botter has fast become a household name in the world of fashion. Not just for its effortlessly cool designs but for the attention to detail the brand pays to its production process, quietly tackling the societal issues in the world today.
Botter was founded in 2017 by Rushemy Botter and his creative partner Lisi Herrebrugh. The duo began working together in university, only one year after they were awarded with the Hyères Festival Grand Prix and became finalists of the prestigious LVMH prize. The brands early collections, this landed them a spot as Creative Directors of Nina Ricci, tasked with bringing a contemporary edge to the heritage brand the pair brought in a new style of modernity to the brand and created a digital relevance it didn’t have. They departed the brand in January 2022 having accomplished what they set out to do.
Inspired by their Caribbean heritage Rushemy and Herrebrugh dubbed their designs ‘Caribbean Couture’ for which they won the 2022 Andam prize, describing it as the “practical way of dress” when drenched in the sun and enduring the heat. Pledging that it would spend the award money on developing biotextiles and managing their Curacao coral farm. Botter takes innovative, sustainable fabrications and melds them into unique yet practical clothing giving the brand its individual edge which makes it so special. It’s not so surprising that the brand has drawn for itself a major cult following earning entry into the esteemed collective of ‘The New Fashion Vanguard’– four international fashion labels and designers presenting a new way to dress.
Rushemy and Lisi’s designs feature a lot of contrasts between the colourful and the sober, fluid and rigid but their societal and sustainable standpoints are not. The brand has been sustainable from the time it was formed which is a formidable feat for many. They consistently work with the environmental non-profit, Parley, to create garments, for example their tailored suit jackets and trousers, which are made from ocean waste textiles. The pair also founded Botter Coral Nursery in Curaçao, which is funded by a percentage of the brands profits, helping to restore coral reefs and maintain fish habitats. For its SS 2023 collection, the brand presented a jersey fabric made from 100 per cent algae, the fabric was cut into crew-neck shirts, and another textile made from kelp that they used in ankle-length tube dresses.
Botter’s avant-garde collections have put them at the forefront of innovative fashion, their seamless and full circle sustainable clothing is a signature part of the brand, which many others tend to struggle with. Their conceptual designs keep the conversations that need to be had flowing both on and off the runway.
