What is your very favourite hotel?
The Carlyle in New York for various reasons: first because I grew up going there with my father; second because the interior designer Lorenzo Mongiardino, who designed part of the ground floor and of the restaurant, decorated all of my family houses in Italy: the one in Milan where I grew up as well as my mother’s family house in the country side. The Carlyle really feels like home, Mongiardino had such a distinctive decorative style, which cannot be mistaken.–
Tell us about your family’s home in the countryside!
The house is situated near Venezia, it was built in the 16th century and my parents bought it in the 1960s. They asked Mongiardino to decorate it, he also decorated the Brandolini d’Adda family house, which is very close by us. Those were the true magical years. The decorators of those years still inspire today’s interior world a lot.
Your Madeleine de Proust in terms of furniture/objects?
Two wicker chairs produced by Bonacina in Italy and designed by Mongiardino, that have been in my mother’s drawing room since always. When I first moved out, I knew that it was the one piece I wanted: I took them with me to London and they are now sitting in my living room.
In terms of objects, I inherited a dinner set from my father, which was made by Vista Alegre in Portugal and which has followed me ever since. Those plates have a very traditional style that reminds me of my childhood. My own children are now eating in them; it is a never-ending generational love story.
What do you think of The Invisible Collection?
The Invisible Collection and Cabana have a common point, which is the importance given to craftsmanship and the importance given to unique objects; rather than using repetitive objects or industrial design, which have been chosen as a main style for the past 3 decades. Every single piece on both The Invisible Collection and what is shown in Cabana is truly unique. We talk about luxury a lot, for me luxury cannot be if it’s not unique – and uniqueness goes together with craftsmanship.
How would you define the Cabana style?
ITALIAN! It is all about the colours, the style is rich and pompous of course. I grew up in a country that is widely defined as a ‘living museum’, where history and particularly the Catholic Church have influenced the Italian art forever. Your whole life you are surrounded with those colours, the churches, the statues: you learn to appreciate beauty in a very subconscious way over time; your visual aesthetics will forever be based on your cultural surroundings.
