The brand challenges notions of disposability and value at its first Paris fashion week show.
After taking over the Parisian house of Nina Ricci in 2018, Lisi Herrebrugh and Rushemy Botter debuted their first show at the Fall/Winter 2020 Paris men’s fashion week. With a compelling boost of positivity, this collection dismantles precedent and replaces it with a fresh, contemporary, homespun take on classic couture archetypes. With a mindset rooted in the principles of up-cycling, the team believes anything can be made into art, a concept introduced by the Arte Povera movement, aiming to showcase this both through their designs and an accompanying installation. Hanging tires, fans, and toilets from scaffolding towers on the runway, humanitarian and artist Tirzo Martha used a plethora of components to build an original and functional installation for this show.
With an emphasis on DIY techniques, the collection incorporates garment scraps as decorations, decorating pieces with pearl-accented plastic tags and using interior jacket lining to create flower embellishments. These components highlight the designers’ creative ability to both comment on, and successfully integrate, excess waste throughout this collection. By reconceptualizing commonplace fast-fashion tropes in a high fashion setting, they challenge notions of disposability and value.
Their critique of overconsumption and overproduction of single-use plastic plays out in an innovative manner through this collection; they showcase everything from plastic hats, belts, bags and even a loose piece of plastic worn tight against models’ necks. Heart-shaped mylar balloon handbags, made in collaboration with sculpture artists Adam Parker Smith, featured traditional comments of affection: “Good Luck!” “Best Wishes” and “Botter Love.” These messages capture the true spirit of this collection, the warning beneath the playfulness.
