Rushemy Botter

There is a significant need for new personal stories in today’s hype-driven, free-for-all fashion world. Despite a rather boring tradition in that realm, some of the names we find interesting and who have the potential to do just that come from The Netherlands. Following in the footsteps of Paul Helbers and Sebastiaan Pieter—both talented Dutch designers with young labels (based outside of The Netherlands)—last month’s Royal Academy of Antwerp graduate Rushemy Botter seems to be next in line to step up. His graduation collection (Autumn/Winter 2018), titled Fish or Fight, marked Botter’s debut during last week’s Amsterdam Fashion Week. However, we had already seized the opportunity to briefly meet the rising star one day after his graduation show in Antwerp at the beginning of June.

As his family, some friends, and creative (/romantic) partner Lisi Herrebrugh helped him dismantle and remove the installation for his final academy presentation—big wooden panels featuring the same tropical illustrations by his friend illustrator Iwan Smit that were also part of the collection—we sat down with Rushemy, who turned out to be a very friendly, down-to-earth, yet highly ambitious young man with significant dreams. A person who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, having worked hard to get where he is today, yet full of excitement for what’s still to come, despite knowing that it will continue to be very hard work from this point on.

The fact that he won the remarkable number of five graduation prizes (including the Dries van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester accolades) probably still resonated in his high spirits. Rushemy shared with us that, before finding his love for fashion, he was in the military for a while. When he came to Antwerp four years ago, he had already completed a technical fashion education in The Netherlands, where he discovered his ambition to have his own label one day. And despite what he felt at the time when he started his studies in Antwerp, he now knows that he wouldn’t have grown into a designer capable of telling stories that are uniquely his own without the academy. Now, he’s ready to take on the world.

Being part of a large group of international fellow students (18 Master’s graduates in total!) clearly proved to be a fruitful environment for discovering his personal vision. Yet, when we critically observed the collections of the other graduates from his year, few (or maybe none) were able to distill a personal voice combined with societal relevance as strikingly as Rushemy did with his collection. In today’s fashion environment, many young designers don’t strictly focus on the education at hand at a certain academy, but also consciously position themselves on the ever-growing platform of that institute, using it as a stepping stone to start their own labels while the international limelight of graduation is still upon them. Which, obviously, isn’t necessarily the right moment for everyone. But with a new class stepping up every year, the association with the school’s platform fades as quickly as it comes to life.

Rushemy stepped into that limelight last year when he presented his third-year collection in Antwerp, which left a deep impression when we witnessed it. Subsequently—assisted by the ‘viral intervention’ of Young Thug during the VFILES presentation of the same collection at New York Fashion Week a month later—Rushemy’s creations, with a militaristic aesthetic worn by an army of dark-skinned models, showed Mongrel Mob-inspired motorcycle gang references and presented a clear activist message, which garnered him worldwide attention. For some, especially those driven by the holy grail of visibility rather than significant ideas, this moment of fame would probably have been enough to search for more of the same from that point on.

Instead, Rushemy returned to Antwerp to finish his education and, together with Herrebrugh, began working on his final farewell to Walter van Beirendonck & co. This would also mean his final presentation to the world on the academy stage in Antwerp. It resulted in a search for new layers of depth in his work, partly influenced by his experiences in the fashion world outside Antwerp, but also by a new level of narrative. He found his inspiration in Curaçao, a former Dutch island colony in the Caribbean, where his family’s roots lie.

Rushemy translated his point of view into rich aesthetic elements (big suits, big accessories) and a strong activist narrative (degenerate corporate logos, Nike Air VaporMax glued onto leather shoes) in the collection, which are as much about him as an individual as they are about a fashion designer trying to create meaningful form. This makes the new collection a remarkable step forward, setting him apart from most of his peers. Coincidentally (or maybe not), Curaçao also forms the subject matter in the work of our other big favorite art academy graduate of the year: photographer Gilleam Trapenberg. (More on his work in the near future.)

As the Dutch multi-ethnicity debate has always been very rigid, with mostly an “us” (autochtoon) versus “them” (allochtoon) framework at play, the fact that second- and third-generation immigrants are bringing new, sophisticated perspectives into this discourse is something we really appreciate and feel is deeply needed in times of polarization. The fact that Rushemy (and Trapenberg, for that matter) succeeds in integrating these deeply personal matters into his creations highlights an extraordinary talent that is needed more than ever, and undoubtedly promises great things in the future.

Rushemy on what inspired him for his graduation collection:

I have a diary that I always keep with me and since I spent my downtime after last year’s show in the Carribean, it dawned on me pretty quickly that I wanted my Master’s collection to be an ode to Curaçao, where my family is from. I am always inspired by its people. Whether I am at home or traveling, I can often pick out of the crowd who’s from Curaçao or the Dominican Republic. They just dress differently.

I specifically wanted to focus on the cultural clash they experience. A lot of young people come to Europe for what they think and hope will be a better life, but adapting or fitting in is very difficult and oftentimes they end up in trouble. In The Netherlands, for instance, it’s fairly easy to take out financial loans, so they get into debt and fall into this pattern of not being able to keep up with society. Clothing and appearance become sort of an armour to look like you’re better-off than you actually are. That way of dressing, putting on expensive outfits when you actually don’t have much, is what intrigued me.

Right after the show in Antwerp, Rushemy and Lisi traveled to London and then to Paris to set up a showroom there. Among other people following their Instagram accounts, they hung out with the Daily Paper crew, which seems to be an interesting environment to be around, especially as the label will need to serve its purpose commercially, beyond just interesting ideas, in the future as well. The beautiful lookbook for Fish or Fight, released last week, was created in collaboration with some very like-minded souls: styling by Ib Kamara and photography by the great Ruth Ossai.

We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Rushemy, Lisi, and the Botter label, but we’ll make sure to follow it firsthand. As long as Rushemy stays true to his own personal story, the world is undoubtedly waiting for it.

Portrait photography by Sean Murray.

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