The understated luxe exoticism of Ria and Yiouri Augousti’s designs
+1 The understated luxe exoticism of Ria and Yiouri Augousti’s designs
From rock stars to royalty, actors, athletes, designers, divas and more of such clientele—they have sought Paris-based designing couple Ria and Yiouri Augousti for their elegantly understated furniture and accessories. Since 1989, their namesake upscale brand R&Y Augousti, crafted in Cebu, has built an international network and been widely written about by the foreign press.
After the pandemic, family ties brought Ria (née Macasaet) back to her roots. Enamored by the warmth of the Filipinos, Yiouri, a Greek Cypriot, their designing daughter Kifu and Danish son-in-law Patrick Coard, a sculptor, decided to settle here while keeping their businesses in Paris and in other parts of the world. And now, Filipino architects and designers can access the family’s designs for their clients.
Asked by Filipino traveling friends why they chose to live in Manila instead of Paris, Yiouri replies, “We design more now, being here. You find enjoyment and peace.”
Elegant work
The New York Times once wrote, “Ria and Yiouri Augousti raised many eyebrows back in 1990 when they introduced a collection of home furnishings covered in exotic skins like shagreen and snakeskin.”
Yiouri describes the R&Y Augousti brand as artisanal, with design inspirations from the 1930s Art Deco period characterized by opulent materials, clean lines and smooth curves. But, he qualifies, “It doesn’t mean that our work is Art Deco.”
Followers of the brand will recognize the elegant work, spare in shape but understatedly luxurious in patterns and in materials such as shagreen (stingray hide), coconut wood, pen shell and brass marquetry (inlaid work made from other materials).
Ria adds that the brand has always used sustainable materials. “The stingrays are pretty wild, not farmed. Shell regenerates and coconut is abundant.” Their early designs were initially inspired by the sophisticated minimalism of French interior designer Jean-Michel Frank. The couple has since evolved into organic forms.
Ria and Yiouri met in London while studying interior design and architecture, respectively. The duo would fly to the Philippines to visit their workshop which was manned by 12 Cebuano artisans. Two Englishmen taught the workers how to handle shagreen for refurbishing antique furniture.
While living in London, a friend suggested that they show their unique home accessories such as jewelry boxes and vases at a trade show, Moving International Fair, in Paris in 1990. They did, and without any business background, they bravely entertained orders from high-end stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Barney’s and Giorgio Armani Home. The posh Hôtel de Crillon also ordered customized desk accessories for its rooms.
Collaborations
Their most successful designs are a result of collaboration. Whatever catches Ria’s eye in her travels is shared with Yiouri. “We talk, think and develop,” Yiouri says.
Ria gets her ideas likewise from art and literature. The Cocteau table referenced the biomorphic lines from the drawings of French poet/artist Jean Cocteau. The table top is covered in shagreen while brass follows the curvy silhouette of the face.
From Cocteau’s “Les Enfants Terribles,” a novel about a complicated relationship between a brother, a sister, and a male friend, a collection was developed.
It started with an affluent couple who bought an original edition from an auction. They requested the designers to make a book cover that embodied the spirit of the novel. The shagreen book cover was designed with a peacock feather pattern in two colors of shagreen, accentuated with a mother-of-pearl eye. The three colors symbolized the three characters in the love triangle. The cover has since been displayed at the lofty living room of the clients’ 18th-century home.
Nature also brings new ideas. Lilies drifting placidly on the pond in the French countryside became the peg for the Lily Mirror. A pared-down design, the round mirror represents the floating lily pad, surrounded by a pen shell ripple. While in a garden in Nepal, the couple was fascinated by the eye patterns on the peacock’s feathers. Hence, the eye in the Peacock Table is made of silky tiger’s eye gemstone, bordered by a ring of brass.
“When you take a trip to another country, you see something that can trigger a collection,” says Yiouri.
While passing through the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, they were intrigued by the museum gates made by American sculptor Claire Falkenstein. The metal webbing was infused with irregular pieces of Venetian cut glass in different colors. The Augoustis then developed their own jewelry mixed with semi-precious stones and necklaces with shagreen accents. The bijoux collection evolved into minaudieres and handbags, all made with shagreen, pen shell and other signature materials.
Design DNA
Film or television can also set these designers in a different direction.
While watching the poker scene in the drama miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit,” they came up with a game table that starts off as a chess table with squares of mother-of-pearl inlay and brass borders on the shagreen top. The players can enjoy the tactile quality of the weighty brass chess pieces moving across the board.
Once the board top is lifted, it becomes a table for backgammon with hidden compartments for the parlor game pieces. When the checkered top is flipped, the cover can be used for poker or for breakfast. The brass base is equally intriguing, resembling a chain link.
An early work, the Sylvie Chair, is a four-legged mound with two long horns, made of fiberglass and wrapped in pen shell. The chair has become a statement piece in the apartment of designer Alexander Wang and has likewise been sold at auctions.
Today, R&Y Augousti has expanded into a family business. Their daughter opened her eponymous home furniture business, Kifu Paris, while the son-in-law has his namesake brand, Patrick Coard Paris, which presents his sculptures and table accessories. Yiouri maintains that the younger generation has acquired the family design DNA.
The Cebu factory employs 150 highly skilled workers. Foreign clients are willing to wait for more than six months, knowing that their orders are handmade.
“We pace the work as much as we can and wake up in the morning, staying calm,” says Yiouri.
