Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh are the Andam award-winning designers behind gender-neutral “Caribbean couture” brand Botter.
Rushemy Botter was born in Curaçao, a Dutch-Carribbean island off the coast of Venezuela, but lived for most of his life in Amsterdam. From a young age, he knew he wanted to study in Antwerp, Belgium, where he attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts where designers including Martin Margiela, Dries van Noten and Glenn Martens also studied.He was mentored Walter Van Beirendonck and Dirk Van Saene, and showed a runway collection with the emerging designers' platform VFiles in 2016.
He launched eponymous label Botter with Dominican-Dutch designer Lisi Herrebrugh in 2017. Herrebrugh studied at Amsterdam Fashion Institute and developed technical skills as an intern at Viktor & Rolf.
Botter was named an LVMH Prize finalist in 2018, the same year its designers were tasked with bringing a contemporary edge to Puig-owned Nina Ricci as its new creative directors. The duo played up the house's 1960s heritage with oversized, brightly coloured felt bucket hats while also injecting it with a new kind of modernity and digital relevance. They departed the brand in January 2022.
Botter went on to win the French fashion industry's Andam prize in 2022 for its “Caribbean couture" concept, nautical designs, inventive constructions (which turned trousers into sweaters), and sustainable ethos. Botter has pledged it would spend the award money on developing biotextiles and managing their Curacao coral farm. The label is stocked at Dover Street Market , Ssense, Printemps, Nordstrom and Galeries Lafayette.
