“A bold print goes a long way in creating moods,” says Inacio Ribeiro, who helms the London fashion label Clements Ribeiro alongside his wife, Suzanne Clements. We couldn’t agree more! And their high-style Schumacher collection proves the power of prints to elevate a space and your mood.
The couple has a knack for beautiful living and currently resides and works on a houseboat, surrounded by indoor plants, a vast art library and an incredible view of the River Thames.
“It is great for entertaining, and our daughter’s friends fight for sleepovers,” Ribeiro says. “And Suzanne took up rowing!”
One recent afternoon, Ribeiro paused from his frequent travels to talk to us about great design and to share their London short list.
Eat Exotic
We love Middle Eastern food and, like everybody else in London, swear by Yotam Ottolenghi: his many cookbooks, his eponymous deli in Notting Hill and his restaurant Nopi. We also love Honey and Co and Palomar.
Stroll Leisurely
We love Chiltern Street, where you find great stuff of incredible quality. Mouki Mou is our favourite shop there. And don’t miss the Gallery of Everything, where you’ll find the marvelous collection of untrained artists curated by the reliably eccentric founder, James Brett.
Shop local
Perfumer H on Crawford Street is incredible. Our genius friend Lyn Harris creates the best fragrances in handblown glasses. You’ll find her in the lab downstairs, where she can create a bespoke scent just for you. Head to Lillie Road for antiques and vintage paintings. And our local art gallery, Wilson Stephens and Jones, on the bend of Westbourne Park Road, which has an incredible selection of drawings, small-scale paintings and ceramics.
The London Look, Explained
Whereas other fashion capitals tend to cultivate tradition and sophistication with reverence, in London we love to be casual about it. There’s a basic loathing of preciousness that stems perhaps from the visceral appreciation of individual style. We love to pair the cheap with the rare, and we believe in a dash of “bad taste” to give an outfit or an interior a jolt of raw energy.
Rooms & The Runway: the Common Thread
Fashion and interiors are tools to express personal style. Both are also reflections of the times and can bring great comfort and confidence, and make the world a better looking place—a better living place.
Design Words to Live by
We love all prints, small or large, gentle or bold, as long as they are beautifully conceived and executed. Frankly, life is too short for greige!
Finding Inspiration
We always turn to art for guidance, and traveling is essential as it keeps your eyes stimulated. As our friend Paul Smith always says, inspiration is everywhere.
On the Merits of Travel
For us, traveling is vital. We travel to escape the familiar, to gain new perspectives, to meet people that see and feel things differently. We explore a lot, we photograph a lot, and everything gets embedded in our creative process, although rarely in a literal way. But we can never stay away from Paris for too long. It is a very romantic place for us and associated with many cherished memories.
