Gabriel Rimedio influences how people shop without using any words.
Instead he lets his visuals speak for him and his clients.
Rimedio is a self-taught visual display stylist for luxury fashion retailers. Using a miscellany of materials, he creates intriguing glass showcases that convey certain moods or themes.
“Ever since I was a kid, everything I did was always artwork of some sort,” he said.
WAG met Rimedio at The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester in White Plains, where his latest project is featured. The display was created for Landsberg Jewelers, which has a store in the hotel, to showcase its newest collection of embellished accessories and home décor items. Dotting the merchandise are artificial flowers in neutral shades, some made of burlap, around which flit synthetic orange monarch butterflies. Boxes of varying sizes are used throughout to accent the merchandise and add depth to the case.
“I try to make each venue unique. I have to make the product sell,” he said. “First, I come up with a concept or an idea. Then I see what’s out in the market that I can interpret into the mood of what I’m being asked to create.”
Rimedio was born and raised in White Plains, where he began his career creating displays at Bloomingdale’s. Shortly after that, he began working as a visual display designer, merchandiser and stylist at Neiman Marcus Westchester, where he would spend some 15 years. It was at Neiman Marcus that he received an unusual request.
“One of the designers wanted her floral with no greenery,” he said. “Anything green, she didn’t want to see. Everyone has their own concepts and ideas, so to work with that and still make it your own can be pretty tricky.”
Rimedio’s visual art isn’t confined to displays. He is a self-taught floral arranger. His interior design work, including table settings, was featured in the 2007 “Homes for the Holiday House Tour” in New Canaan, and his styling work has introduced him to stars such as Rihanna.
“I think I like it all,” said Rimedio, who will soon be packing up his artistry and moving to Florida. “I just like doing the whole range of it. I just like being creative and making things look new and exciting.”
Gabriel Rimedio’s display cases can be seen at The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester in White Plains and Landsberg Jewelers in Rye. For more, email rimedios@aol.com.
