!! OMG, why not wear it? BOTTER umbrella lewks !!

BOTTER Paris Spring/Summer 2022 campaign by Viviane Sassen

Metaphorically speaking, what we wear can bring us together (and, hopefully, we’ll be doing more literal gathering in the coming months).

As such, grand entrances are about to be made—ones requiring accoutrements that serve singularity.

While bad weather can rain on your proverbial parade, BOTTER has a splashy solution…

The emerging label’s Spring 2022 collection, called “Global Warning,” focused on climate change and how design can address the issue—with kooky AF results.

See more looks after the jump!

Take the upcycled pieces fashioned from Piganiol umbrellas, which elevate the concept of the humble umbrella hat of beach days gone by.

A combination of contemporary ingenuity and storied provenance—Piganiol was founded in 1884, cherie—which behooves the luxury price tag (starting at €695), BOTTER has captured that ever-elusive fashionable functionality amalgam which to date has largely resulted in other brands’ bland-ass utilitarianism aesthetic (and whatever “luxury loungewear” is).

Honestly, these looks make the thought of showing up to a soirée in an earth-tone Mac seem akin to arriving in a soggy burlap sack. We are living through skin-crawlingly tense times right now, y’all; it’s the moment for a carpe diem closet update, and the more whimsical and conversation-starting your ensemble, the better!

No rain in the forecast? NO WORRIES. Thee Billy Porter vetted the potential of these pieces when he donned a turquoise BOTTER get-up on the American Music Awards red carpet last November.

It gave “unbothered outdoor diner showing up with their own bottle of wine,” and it worked:

Billy Porter wearing BOTTER Paris at the 2021 American Music Awards. Photo via Billy’s Instagram

Truly, it’s the practicality and audacity of BOTTER’s designs that’s so intriguing and welcome; a goddamned sartorial salve after almost three years of nothing but bad news and sweatpants.

BOTTER reminds us that creativity is sorely needed as a component in fashion’s climate crisis management. Plus, it’s just f-u-n (remember fun?).

These pieces beg the question, “Who would wear this?” and I want to meet anyone who says, “Me.”

OMG, why not wear it? is our column for fashion lovers who are up for anything. It is an inspiration point, a place for dreaming, and a discussion of beauty, weirdness, and thought-provoking design moments as forms of connection. Written by Odessa Paloma Parker (@odessapaloma)