The addition of two British Blue Shorthair cats to the household of Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro inspired a feline theme for the couple's comeback presentation. Shapes were shift-simple; fabrics were luxe but light (Smedley Sea Island cotton was introduced as an alternative to the label's signature cashmere). But the essence of the collection was its charming embellishment: the print composed of Warhol cats, the appliqué that looked like wicked cartoon kitties from the fifties. The cats' eyes were edged in zippers, dramatic on a pink cardigan. The same zippers were used with pearls to refashion the cashmere Union Jack sweater that is a Clements Ribeiro classic, and with organza to re-create abstract Japanese landscapes on a white gazar dress. The play between soft and hard was seductive. After a period of professional confusion, Clements and Ribeiro are now producing their clothes in the same Brittany factory that makes Chanel and YSL. Was it too obvious to assume a Breton edge to the striped dress with the sailor buttons, or the cardigans that closed with fisherman's toggles? Clements thought so. Her own predilection is for the "skewiff" glamour of the fallen aristo. And such a creature would surely find much to please her in Clements Ribeiro's collection for ultrachic cat ladies.
