Gwendoline Porte is a French interior designer, born in 1974, who lives and works in London.
She spent her childhood under the Caribbean sun and the shade of palm trees, growing up barefoot, in contact with warm sand and the colonial houses of Guadeloupe. As an adult, she moved to Paris to study and work as a PR in fashion, events, arts and digital marketing. She then moved to London, whose cosmopolitan nature prompted her to embrace the idea that “anything is possible”.
Porte recently graduated in Interior Design at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL, receiving the Dean’s Award for her work. RAILS, designed as a functional sculpture, was inspired by a cross section of railway tracks and aims to capture the essence of life’s journey. It was exhibited at Decorex London, Paris Design Week, the Decorative Arts Museum in Berlin and Clerkenwell Design Week in London. RAILS are now part of the selection of the Design Museum's shop and eshop.
“I love travel and history,” says the designer. “I believe we are constantly reinventing things based on what we know and what we see. I am influenced by so many creative minds, from Le Corbusier and Pierre Paulin to Basquiat and Warhol.”
Undoubtedly, Porte’s inspiration stems from her travels and her exotic roots. Her designs tell a story using clean lines and natural, often raw materials that age beautifully. She likes to mix different elements to add contrast and create a balance of styles, between male and female, traditional and contemporary, rustic and luxurious.
Her first project was her own family house and design studio, before completing a number of offices and residential projects in London and France.
