Clements Ribeiro has always designed into the eclectic, decorative, nostalgic way of dressing the duo calls "clunky couture." Now, with the fashion mood swinging distinctly in its direction, the husband and wife team has come up with a great-looking take on glam eccentricity.
The first model set the tone, in a scrappy fox shrug, dippy dress patchworked from circus print and polka dots, and a smearing of emerald eye shadow. Part YSL forties collection, part King's Road glamorette, she looked like a vision of the mad, imaginative way young London girls put themselves together in the early seventies. With signature patterned cashmeres, coats in leopard spot or appliquéd with flowers, and a slew of pretty, undone party dresses, it looked like a great way to get that requisite deranged-decadent look for fall. "I just felt it's time to do something more opulent and gorgeous," said Suzanne Clements, who said she and her husband, Inacio Ribeiro, had been inspired by that classic documentary of aristocratic eccentricity, Grey Gardens.
