Botter: «Fashion as a lever for change»

When they talk about themselves, they describe themselves as the champions of «Caribbean couture». Botter's duo Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh recently won the Andam fashion award 2022 and, after leaving Nina Ricci’s creative direction in 2021, accepted the 300,000-euro prize with a promise to deploy those resources in innovative sustainable projects. The two creatives will also receive a year of coaching from Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel, Eva Chen, head of fashion partnerships at Instagram, and the Mytheresa.com team.

What defines Botter's aesthetic?

We think of it as a fusion of «aquatic» clothing and daywear. Audacity and elegance coexist, because we do not have a specific man or woman in mind, but our references are those of the movements and attitude of the Caribbean. Our last collection was called «Caribbean Couture» and expressed precisely the cultural and aesthetic mix of our Dutch-Caribbean roots. We mixed Western haute couture codes with the color of exotic lands in order to create a creative wardrobe. We translated it in a tropical key in terms of color but also an experimental way of dressing, also using salvaged, used and second-hand items, just as is customary in those places.

How is your brand responsible?

We make sure that our whole value chain is. We are very precise in choosing how and with whom we work. We are also very demanding in terms of credibility when looking for a partner. For example, we have started to partner with Parley for the Oceans, an organization committed to cleaning our seas of plastic while preserving their biodiversity. This reality gives rise to materials that are used for our looks. We also donate much of the collections to an island nursery. We do not define ourselves as a sustainable brand yet, there are still a lot of activities we have to put in place, but we are trying to be as circular as possible. We do not even believe it is possible to be 100% sustainable, what we can state is that we are trying. It is not a marketing tool, but a virtuous intuition that we want to express through fashion. With Botter, we have also committed ourselves to starting a coral nursery in Curaçao with the help of our families and on-site friends. There, as on many islands, coral reefs are dying due to climate disruption, under the unconcerned eye of increasingly mass tourism and the fishing industry. That is why reviving this ecosystem means giving back to nature and, therefore, giving something back to the world. This is the purpose of our deep involvement in the Botter Coral Nursery, an organization that actively works on reviving coral reefs that are the oceans' nourishment. We see fashion as an art form that needs to really express what is happening in the real world right now. It is hard to ignore the environmental crisis, war and injustice.

How did you start your collaboration with Parley for the Oceans?

It is a very organic project, an ensemble dialogue is much more than a simple fabric furniture. It is important to have a conversation between two companies and see how we can change the system. We care about oceans’ health and what is happening on global scale that affects everyone, just as Parley. In our daily lives we design a fashion brand with a positive effect on the ocean, oceans’ health is our health. Part of the conversation focuses also on how to design without harmful chemicals, how to recreate fabrics that damage the oceans in a responsible way.

What is your opinion on cultural appropriation?

It is a very delicate topic and we have always been clear and honest on what we do. We see when someone is disrespectfully appropriating a culture and when the storytelling and the cultural construct transposition is done with respect. If someone acts with integrity and honesty while celebrating the differences, they cannot do any wrong. Obviously, superficiality and tricks lead to harmful reaction that can be dystonic. This was very frequent in the past, but inspiration was celebration, just consider the Yves Saint Laurent universe in Marrakesh. What we find interesting on cultural appropriation is that everyone is talking about it nowadays, but the truth is that we need to include who belongs to the world you are talking to or want to talk to. We need to contribute more and give back, not merely take and exploit.

Do you openly talk about sustainability?

We have talked about sustainability, but you what see around you, that is, other brands’ approaches, is already old school for us. We focus on how to improve our brand, how to do better for our world and how we can do it not only within the fashion sector. We think about how possible it is to change people’s mindset, how to innovate thanks to the materials used in our collections, creating synergies with non-fashion companies. The trick is working together. Furthermore, we do not like the term collaboration because it sounds too marketing-related, we should find another expression, such as teamwork, for example.

How difficult is it to be sustainable for a brand?

The hardest thing to do for a company is to decide. We do not believe it is difficult to find ingredients and materials. The common thing to all corporations, for example, are people and their mindsets. If we truly want to change things, we need to act on these elements moving forward together in one direction.

You won the ANDAM Grand Prize 2022, how do you feel about it and what do you wish for the future?

It is a very important achievement. We have many ideas for the future of our brand, and we will finally be able to bring them to life. We cannot wait to effectively shape our development vision, focusing on organic fabrics and expanding the team in terms of development, merchandising and finance. We need to meet with open-minded people who are constantly searching for new developments to revise all the traditional fashion concepts. (All rights reserved)