Atlas of Fashion Designers

153

Clements Ribeiro

Clements Ribeiro







Cle

When two talented designers enjoy what they’re doing, there’s something that cannot be

easily remedied: designs burst with color, prints invade dresses and blouses, and traditional

elegance becomes somewhat irreverent, as if a torrent of happiness had fl ooded the work

and displaced a certain rigidity and formality with new and unusual creations.

 is is the case of Brazilian designer Inácio Ribeiro and British designer Suzanne Clements.

 eir joyful alliance radiates ingenuity and mastery in each and every one of their creations.

So it’s no surprise, then, that the two designers have become a reference for innovation

within British fashion.  ey met at Central Saint Martins and soon thereafter founded

Clements Ribeiro, making a name for themselves with an eclectic, feminine and very un-

conventional fi rst collection. Since then, their groundbreaking style has brought them

numerous awards for its graceful fusion of elegance, quality and diversity. At its core is an

exquisite combination of attention to cut and fi nish and a sharp sensibility for uniting fab-

rics and textures. Desirous of making this unique identity its own, from 2000 until 2007,

legendary brand Cacharel ceded creative control of its collections to Clements Ribeiro.

Since then, the designers have dedicated their energies exclusively to their own label.

Clements Ribeiro is a special coalition, truly unique. It would have been easy to fi nd a

niche in the fashion world through tremendous display, excessive ornamentation and dis-

parate combinations, yet Clements Ribeiro elected a diff erent path. Still, the special feature

of these two designers’ work does lie in a kind of studied imbalance, or rather, a balanced

oscillation between bohemianism and elegance.

Photography by Tim Griffi ths

154

Clements Ribeiro

To the right, image from backstage

belonging to the eclectic and nostalgic

Fall/Winter 2005–2006 collection.

Above, more backstage images from

the Spring/Summer 2005 collection,

with a marked 50s infl uence.

Photography by Tim Griffi ths

155

Clements Ribeiro

Photography by Tim Griffi ths

156

Clements Ribeiro

Clements Ribeiro

[e-mail]

- What inspires you?

We are passionate about the visual arts, particularly paintings and drawings. We are museum rats and art bookworms.

We are also constantly traveling. And we don’t mean only business trips, but mostly road trips and adventure trips, and

along the way we have collected many objects and souvenirs. Over the years we have found ourselves using these things

as research objects. Fashion itself has always been a major energizer, past and present.

- What is your dream as a designer?

To make great clothes that refl ect uniqueness and craftsmanship, as well as relevance to our customer and our times.

- What has been the most important achievement of your career?

To have maintained our integrity and our relationship throughout all the inevitable ups and downs of a successful

fashion career.

- How important are trends?

 ey facilitate the spread of certain ideas that seem to capture a moment.  ey are to “happen” as opposed to being

imposed or to being followed.  e creative impulse in its most individual expression is our true pleasure.

- Fashion has always refl ected a certain era. What does fashion refl ect in the twenty-fi rst century?

So far, we believe fashion this century has shown a very dynamic struggle between huge brand corporations and the

creative resistance by independent houses. All seems to be on the brink of change, and as we all chase to capture that es-

sence, fashion becomes very plural and of very high standards both in creativity and craft. Changing periods are always

very exciting and therefore very creative, in both design and strategy.

- What book would you recommend to every fashion designer?

Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfi re of the Vanities is as good as any an introduction to all the perils of trading on people’s vanities

and their social mores.

157

Clements Ribeiro

Photography by Tim Griffi ths