Georges Schweder and his business partner Ferdinand Claus could hardly have imagined that Claus Porto, the little soap and fragrance business they set up in 1887 in Porto, would, five generations later, still be tempting an appreciative clientele. What’s not to love? The packaging of angular patterns and Gatsby-esque lettering – said to have been inspired by Portugal’s Belle Epoque ceramics and Azulejo tiles – opens up with scents of pine, eucalyptus, juniper and patchouli, as seductive today as they were when the German founders first concocted them 130 years ago.
And now, following his work on the brand’s first Lisbon store, architect João Mendes Ribeiro has, in something of a full circle moment, converted a three-storey 19th-century townhouse in Porto into, literally, a fragrant set-piece.
The dramatic space is anchored by a staircase of riga timber and a vertical garden. Small vitrines, like jewellery boxes really, hold the house’s signature colognes, while a marble basin is particularly handy for lathering up test soap bars. On Saturdays, the store offers hot towel shaves featuring, of course, products from the Claus Porto male grooming range.
For history buffs, the second floor will be of great interest, featuring not just original factory furniture, but also archival material and specimens, including the evolving typography and patterns; whilst the top floor holds an interactive scent lab, and mini soap factory.
ADDRESS
Rua das Flores, 22
-
Vestre’s neo-brutalist furniture will bring ‘a little madness’ to Paris Fashion WeekBound for Paris Men’s Fashion Week this month, Norwegian furniture brand Vestre reveals a sculptural bench and mirror created with designer Vincent Laine and fashion creative Willy Cartier – the latest outcome of its risk-taking ‘a little madness’ initiative
-
For its latest runway show, Zegna creates a serene oasis in DubaiThe Italian fashion house took over the Dubai Opera for a S/S 2026 show that proposed a lived-in elegance, drawing inspiration from Dubai’s sunbaked landscapes and Zegna’s birthplace of Trivero
-
Time-travel to the golden age of the cruise ship at Sea Containers LondonThe South Bank hotel celebrates its tenth anniversary with four new suites inspired by period cabin design, from Edwardian elegance to 1980s glamour
-
Wallpaper* checks in at MACAM Hotel: a night at the museumPortugal’s first hotel-museum is home to 600 pieces of modern and contemporary art and 64 rooms for the ultimate artistic immersion
-
Sun-soaked European destinations to visit in springDreaming of Florentine palazzos and Greek islands now that the weather is starting to turn? Check into one of these beautiful European hotels and holiday homes
-
The world's most heavenly destinations for astrotourism in 2025We're in for a big year for celestial events. These are the world's best hotels to see the cosmos as you've never seen it before
-
Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025: meet the travel winners transcending destinationsDiscover the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025 travel winners – the year’s places to stay, dine, drink and join – and watch our video to find out why they won
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
-
Find serenity at Casa Fortunato, a Portuguese bolthole filled with lightDesign-savvy duo Antonio Falcáo Costa Lopes and Filipa Fortunato chose Alcácer do Sal as the perfect setting for the second iteration of their original Casa Fortunato
-
Lisbon hotel Locke de Santa Joana wins Wallpaper* Design Award 2025Born from the restoration of an old convent, Locke de Santa Joana receives our Best Opening award for its design inventiveness and sunny disposition
-
The Rebello is a chic hotel with an industrial past on Porto’s riversideTransforming industrial buildings on the Douro river, The Rebello is a new hotel ‘with an old soul’
