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Nina Ricci is parting ways with its lead designers amid a shift towards accessible luxury prices and a digital focus.
“It is by mutual agreement and after three and a half years of a rich collaboration that the house of Nina Ricci and its two artistic directors, Lisi Herrebrugh and Rushemy Botter, have agreed to end their partnership,” the brand said in a statement on Monday. The maison said it was planning a “new creative and innovative direction for Nina Ricci”, without specifying further. No replacement plan has been announced.
The Dutch designers will instead focus on their own menswear and womenswear label Botter, due to show in Paris Fashion Week in March. At Nina Ricci, they became known for their Caribbean-inspired colour palette and houndstooth patterns. Their most recent collection was presented earlier this month for Nina Ricci pre-fall 2022.
“The house Nina Ricci warmly thanks Lisi and Rushemy for their poetic interpretations of the brand’s collections, which brought a fresh approach and a new sense of modernity to Nina Ricci which we will continue working on going forward,” the statement said.
Nina Ricci, founded in 1932, is well known for its fragrances despite its couture heritage as a form-fitting dressmaker. Like other smaller heritage maisons, the brand has struggled to maintain relevance, and recently closed its Paris flagship on Avenue Montaigne to focus on more accessibly-priced luxury with a digital-first strategy. In 2021, Puig-owned Paco Rabanne took the space of the historical Nina Riccci flagship. Charlotte Tasset, general manager fashion and fragrances at Nina Ricci, left last year and later joined Maje as CEO. A replacement has not been named.
Perfume and cosmetics giant Puig bought Nina Ricci in 1998, amid global recognition of its L’Air du Temps fragrance. A series of the brand's past designers have since sought to build a ready-to-wear business, including Canadian designer Nathalie Gervais, Swedish designer Lars Nilsson, Belgian designer Olivier Theyskens, English designer Peter Copping (from 2009 to 2014), Carven’s Guillaume Henry and finally the Dutch pair.
Herrebrugh and Botter were appointed artistic directors for fashion at Nina Ricci in 2018, shortly after they won the Première Vision Grand Prize at the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography and the same year were finalists for the LVMH Prize. At Nina Ricci, they had succeeded Guillaume Henry, who became artistic director of Patou.
Botter was born in the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao and grew up near Amsterdam before studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. With his masters’ collection, he launched Botter with his partner Lisi Herrebrugh, a graduate of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute whose family is from the Dominican Republic. “Botter’s identity combines its ‘Caribbean Couture’ spirit, as well as its glance towards Arte Povera’s philosophy, together with a strong sustainability consciousness,” reads Botter’s website.
“We are thankful to Nina Ricci and Puig for their trust and to our passionate team for all their work and support,” Herrebrugh and Botter stated. “We are proud to have been able to put our creativity at the service of this iconic maison. We feel that this is the right time to dedicate all of our attention to Botter, which is now entering exciting times and which we want to take to yet another level.”
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