London Fashion Week: Clements Ribeiro autumn/winter 2013

Where would fashion be without a road trip? Several references short of a collection that's for sure. No problem for husband and wife Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro, who have taken a handful of gonzo car journeys through Brazil, Wymoming and the Southern United States in the past six months. Do they have time to do any work, I asked them backstage after this morning's postcards from the edge show: "I've got very good at doing fittings via Skype," said Clements.

One of the most addictive side-effects of any show from this duo is piecing together the inspirations, which are never less than arcane - and finding yourself seduced all over again by their prints, which, said Clements, "always take the longest time to design. Everything starts with the prints."

READ: All the latest from New York Fashion Week autumn/winter 2013

Big, blowsy, fuchsia and red flowers based on Mexican Chita floral brocades, beaded metallic 1920's dresses, mini punk kilts, sometimes worn with slim, slouchy boyish trousers were worn with flat brogues. As was everything else, all, even the slim calf length skirts, worn with flats.

Also ubiquitous were those oversized poppy printed knits. Or were they peonies? Clements wasn't sure - she was still recovering from the discovery, 20 minutes before the show was due to start, that the model who was meant to open it was, in fact, in Milan. What she was clear on was the reason for all those flat shoes. "I can't do heels any more and I also happen to think flats look fresher".

READ: Lisa Armstrong's review of Clements Ribeiro's autumn/winter 2012 collection

A missing model didn't stop the collection opening just eight minutes after 11am (London's getting more and more punctual). And her husband Inacio later confirmed the flowers were poppies.

The strongest messages were the dropped waistlines, courtesy of those baggy jumpers and cardigans, and what looked like tile pattern screen printed onto their silk fronts. Clements, a one time keen quilter, said they were based on the log cabin quilting that is a speciality of Alabama. "The women there all sit around quilting and singing. YouTube it, it's major". Harlem Shake, your 15 minutes are up.

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