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Nina Ricci Has Hired Not One, But Two New Creative Directors


September 2022 Sales (LATEST)


The post left behind by Guillaume Henry in Nina Ricci will finally be filled, announced the label. Two pairs of feet will step in on his shoes, which Henry has occupied for three and a half years. Promising designers Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh have been chosen to be co-creative directors after the post has been vacant for almost five months. The two join the ranks of Henry, Nathalie Gervais, Olivier Theykens and Peter Copping, all of whom held the position in the Puig-owned fashion house in the last ten years.

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Botter and Herrebrugh were known for their brand, Botter, prior to their stint over at Nina Ricci. The younger brand has already caught the attention of the fashion industry, winning the BVBA32 Ann Demeulemeester Award and Dries van Noten Award. The designers’ emerging stars were further established this year after grabbing the Première Vision Grand Prize during the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography, and being LVMH Prize for Young Designers finalists. These partly led to Nina Ricci’s parent company noticing the duo and considering them to take over its recently vacated creative director title.

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Botter, a graduate of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Herrebrugh, alumna of Amsterdam Fashion Institute, have based their label in Antwerp, but will soon be moving to Paris to start working at Nina Ricci. They will still oversee their menswear label while being depended on to bring Nina Ricci to the younger generation.

A bolder and timelier Nina Ricci

The fashion house, founded by mother and son Nina and Robert in 1932, has made a reputation for its feminine and romantic designs, often expressed in its generous use of lace. This continues to this day, despite the matriarch passing away in 1970. Spanish beauty and fashion group Puig, which is also involved in labels Paco Rabanne, Carolina Herrera, Prada and Comme des Garçons, among others, is intent on introducing a new strategy for Nina Ricci, justifying its decision to employ Botter and Herrebrugh as co-directors for the brand.

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Puig’s President of Brands, Markets and Operations José Manuel Albesa said that when they were searching for Nina Ricci’s new creative directors, they were looking for designers who can offer something unique. While what that entails prior to zeroing in on Botter and Herrebrugh was vague, Albesa noted that it was the duo’s Caribbean brand of joie de vivre that drew them in. He said that the partners’ vision for Nina Ricci was revolutionary, instead of just improving on the label’s traditional image.

From here on out, Puig foresees that the brand will steer away from the traditional that upholds the company’s history and focus on bringing coolness and a new spirit to its name, all the while still being strong and sophisticated, something that was not achieved by directors that have gone before them. The new creative directors are set to reveal their debut collection next year at the Paris Fashion Week. Until then, we can only guess if the two will be able to deliver the heavy mission put on their shoulders.

Nina Ricci Has Hired Not One, But Two New Creative Directors
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Image credits: Leon Mark, Getty Images, 360b / Shutterstock.com


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