Exclusive: G-Star Raw Names the Designers of Botter Co-Creative Directors

Dutch denim brand G-Star Raw has appointed Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh as creative directors for its new premium collections, the company told The Business of Fashion. The design duo behind Botter, a brand known for its Caribbean influences, will reintroduce G-Star’s upscale “Raw Research” line next January during Paris Fashion Week. They will also influence G-Star’s main men’s and womenswear collections.

Known for its usage of raw, untreated denim, G-Star was founded by Jos van Tilburg in Amsterdam in 1989 and acquired in 2023 by the brand management firm WHP Global, which also owns a stake in Rag & Bone and Bonobos.

“It’s just such a great opportunity to … take the step from Botter, from luxury, into what G-Star is doing,” Herrebrugh said. “For us, it’s a really great challenge and something that we are super excited about.” In addition to being longtime creative collaborators, she and Botter are also life partners.

The duo founded Botter in 2017. Their collections have explored themes of racism in the Eurocentric fashion industry and environmentalism, and have earned the designers the Hyères Grand Prix and the Andam Fashion Award. The label was named an LVMH Prize finalist in 2018. Botter and Herrebrugh served as creative directors of Nina Ricci from 2018 to 2022.

When Botter and Herrebrugh joined G-Star last year, they dove into the streetwear brand’s archives to gather inspiration for their first collection. One of their influences was G-Star’s iconic Elwood pants, originally released in 1996, which will be adapted into other styles such as a jacket or top in their upcoming collection.

The decision to join G-Star was, to the Dutch designers, a natural one. Botter remembers G-Star fondly from its ’90s heyday. He and Herrebrugh grew up in a small village near Amsterdam. “[G-Star was] always this pride of Holland,” Botter said. “So being now part of that makes us very proud.”

Botter and Herrebrugh will be G-Star Raw’s first creative directors since Argentinian-born designer Aitor Throup left the brand in 2018 after serving two years in the head creative role. The decision to appoint new creative directors came last year when denim and the ’90s aesthetic of G-Star began growing in relevance, according to the brand’s chief brand officer Gwenda van Vliet.

“We really fell in love with denim,” Herrebrugh said, adding, “G-Star has always had … creativity, innovation, sustainability at its core, and has always been a real trailblazer.”

The duo plans to continue their work at Botter. For now, the brand will not be showing during fashion week, the designers said.