Paris designers make Black Lives Matter plea

The Dutch brand Botter made an impassioned plea for Black Lives Matter Friday at Paris men's fashion week.

Its two designers Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh - who both have Caribbean roots - delivered a heartfelt plea for people to "unite against violence on the black community, against violence on any community" as they unveiled their online show.

The couple, who were runners up in the prestigious LVMH Prize in 2018, made a one-and-a-half-minute call to action before showing two black models in gently poetic creations in white, black and brown creations. 

Such overtly political stances are extremely rare in the fashion world, where labels tend to be fearful of attracting controversy.

Paris fashion week has been forced online by the coronavirus, with brands showing short films about their collections.

Rushemy Botter was born on the island of Curacao, part of the Dutch Caribbean, while his partner Herrebrugh's mother hails from the Dominican Republic.

They said that their collection "was the hardest we have ever done because it was trying to express a positive vision of the Black Lives Matter movement... We are standing against racism, ignorance and a lack of empathy." 

"As designers we are dreamers and the power of the dream is that it brings a belief to life. We all need to believe it is possible to unite," they added.

The couple, whose inspiration tends to comes from black and mixed Caribbean cultures, said that prejudice and violence could be overcome "with our family, a family where nobody is left behind... a multicultural family in a global and diverse world."