My personal style signifier is minimalism with a twist. I always try to incorporate something unique into what I wear. It might be a vintage accessory – a Murano glass flower that I’ll fasten to my belt. Or it could just be the way I wear an item. I’m close with lots of designers and they always joke, “Oh, Lissa just bought this dress, but now watch her wear it backwards or upside down!” I work in design – this is who I am.
The last thing I bought and loved was a painting by Brazilian artist Maria Klabin from Aberto, the architecture and design platform I work with at Etel, my family’s company, which works to protect Brazil’s rich design legacy. When I first saw this painting, I fell instantly in love. It’s delicate and intense all at the same time, with vibrant splashes of orange and blue. I display it on an easel next to my work table by Claudia Moreira Salles, a very famous Brazilian designer. You get a different feeling from looking at an artwork when it’s not hanging from a wall.
The place that means a lot to me is Milan, my second home: I spend half my time there. I’ve witnessed the city’s immense transformation over the past decade and it’s booming. I also cherish our mountain house, high in the Mantiqueira Mountains of south-eastern Brazil. When you wake up, it’s like being above the clouds. We bought the property four or five years ago and built a complex of houses in a contemporary style – mostly drawing from Portuguese and Japanese influences. It’s where I go to find my calm and disconnect. The closest town is Minas Gerais, where my mother was born, and where we have the best olive-oil producers and coffee farmers in Brazil.
And the best souvenirs I’ve brought home are stones. I went to Marrakesh last year and brought back two identical rosy-hued stones from a desert beach. I’ve always been fascinated by them – I love the colours, the materials, the shapes. My friends know my passion: wherever they go, they bring them back too.
The best book I’ve read in the past year is Dezoito Graus (Eighteen Degrees) by Brazilian author Lauro Cavalcanti. It’s inspired by Le Corbusier’s trip to Brazil in the 1930s to oversee the country’s first modern building project: the iconic Gustavo Capanema Palace (the Ministry of Education and Health). That building changed everything for Brazil. We became the most avant-garde country for modern architecture. It informed the title of Austrian writer Stefan Zweig’s 1941 book, Brazil: Land of the Future, which became our motto.
My style icon is my very close friend Costanza Pascolato, the Brazilian-Italian fashion tycoon. She’s 84 and as young as ever, still writing books and columns for Vogue Brasil. We call each other every week. I love her elegance. She’s beautiful and certainly not afraid of taking risks. When you see photos of her, you understand what an icon is right away.
The best gift I’ve given was a surprise trip to Australia and New Zealand to celebrate my daughter’s 15th birthday, which is a significant milestone in Brazil. We were away for 25 days exploring everything from the beaches to the desert. We were even able to visit Whakaari (White Island) before the volcano erupted and it was closed to visitors. One evening, we had dinner under the stars – to this day, it’s still the most beautiful sky I’ve ever seen.
And the best gift I’ve received was for my 50th birthday. My daughter Francesca and my childhood best friend Yoshiko, who lives in Japan, gave me a legal Japanese name: Ayako (or Fumiko 章香). I’m so fond of Asian culture. Ayako has two ideograms – one that relates to my love of books and culture; the other, my love of scents.
The last music I downloaded was “Rêverie” by Waave, which features French-Senegalese artist Anaïs Sylla. It’s great for when I’m driving, travelling or running. My mind likes to travel with it.
I have a collection of artworks, drawings and technical renderings by the masters of Brazilian modernism that I represent at Etel: names like Joaquim Tenreiro, Oscar Niemeyer, Jorge Zalszupin and Lina Bo Bardi. I’m so passionate about their work. Often the focus is on their furniture and objects – it’s not as obvious as collecting their art, which is difficult to come by. It would be impossible to pick a favourite but Niemeyer was such a master of beauty. His lines! And Zalszupin had a great sense of humour. After he died, his daughter Veronica and I discovered some of his illustrations and she gave me one to keep.
The best way to spend €20 is on an Aperol Spritz, enjoyed with a book.
My girlfriends make me laugh. There’s a big group of us that get together every one or two months. We call it our “therapy”. Last time we saw Wicked. I’m not a Wicked person, but it was so much fun. Someone always comes up with a hilarious story: ie, how they missed their flight – and from there, the laughter is contagious.
In my fridge you will always find fresh coffee beans that I grind on the spot (I’m a heavy coffee drinker and I like the good stuff); a very particular Dutch pecorino cheese called Cablanca; at least three different lemons – Sicilian (yellow), Brazilian Tahiti (green) and Cravo (orange), all very different but equally delicious; fresh coconut water; and of course, Aperol.
I do believe in life after death. The beauty of life lies in the great unknown; I prefer to give in to the mystery of it.
An indulgence I would never forgo is a trip to the hammam. When I was last in Marrakesh, I went three times. If I could, I would go every month. It’s rare to have that time for yourself, where someone takes care of you so intensely for so many hours: washing your hair, scrubbing your skin – then the massage. I can’t think of anything more special.
The last item I added to my wardrobe was a cream embroidered jacket from Bode. It has a store in TriBeCa and I was there in March around my birthday. All its pieces are so unique, mixing art, design and fashion. Bode Winter Stallion jacket, $2,200
I couldn’t part with my sunglasses. I have green eyes, so I really need them. I have six pairs by Lapima – a Brazilian brand, super-high-quality – and the Carlota frames are my favourite; I alternate between red, green and tortoiseshell. You can change everything just by changing your glasses. Lapima Carlota sunglasses, $542.50
On my Instagram “For You” page you’ll find images by Adam Štěch, aka @okolo_architecture, an account for modern architecture enthusiasts, and @forgotten__architecture, which explores lesser-known 20th-century buildings around the world.
The beauty staple I’m never without is essential lemongrass oil by dōTerra. I use it as a pillow spray, in a diffuser and sometimes I add a few drops to my face cream. I’m very sensitive to perfumes and aromas. There’s also a vitamin C from Finland that’s really good – Lumene – which I bulk-buy whenever I’m in Milan. It’s a great price, and very efficient. dōTERRA lemongrass oil, $20. Lumene Glow Boost Essence, £34.90
My beauty gurus are Brazilian. When I’m in São Paulo, I’m well taken care of by my personal trainer, Alessandra Camargo. She’s more of a holistic trainer, providing functional exercises and supporting my nutrition. I discovered yoga through her as she runs retreats; in many ways, she changed my life. We’ve been together for nearly 13 years. There’s also a facialist in Brazil called Roseli Siqueira, who was an early pioneer of using exclusively natural products. Whenever I’m in town, I always make sure to leave time for a treatment. I like the gold and cacao serum. Roseli Siqueira Gold & Cacao Serum, £127
When I need to feel inspired I go for a run. It’s my meditation; I can do it anywhere.
My favourite building is the Pampulha Modern Ensemble (more of a complex), designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the 1940s in Minas Gerais, halfway down the east coast of Brazil. It was designated a world heritage site by Unesco in 2016. It was one of Niemeyer’s first projects here and it’s a must-see; it really captures the essence of what Brazilian modernism is, that way of integrating art and design into a building.
The one artist whose work I would collect if I could is Morandi. I love his use of colour and compositions. I recently went to a beautiful retrospective in Milan, where I spent three hours looking at his still-life paintings of bottles. I also saw a beautiful exhibition of his work in Stockholm, a duet with writer and ceramicist Edmund de Waal. If you go down that path with Morandi there’s so much to discover about the simple beauty of objects.
My favourite room in my house is the living room, which catches the beautiful sunset light. I sit here to read, have friends over, be with my family and drink my Aperol. The way the light strikes the walls and creates shadows is something that always touches me.
My favourite website is Cartography, a magazine devoted to stories about travel and world culture. It was created by Paola Corini and Luca De Santis, who are both based in Milan. Each issue focuses on three new destinations and is filled with so much poetry and beauty. I really enjoy navigating through it.
I recently rediscovered the home and atelier of Japanese-Brazilian artist Tomie Ohtake – a hidden gem of São Paulo. It was built in the 1970s by her son Ruy, who was a great friend of my mother, Etel. I was recently brought back to the house by Tomie’s grandson, also an architect and designer. Listening to him regale us with stories of his family and how the house was built in phases made me all the more passionate about it.
The podcast I’ve been listening to is Wiser Than Me with actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, which records a series of funny, personal conversations, mostly with older women. I also like La Milanese, all about the essence of Milanese culture, with lots of charming stories and great recommendations. When Paul Auster died earlier this year, a friend suggested the audiobook version of Here and Now: Letters by Paul Auster and JM Coetzee. I’ve been enjoying listening to two of my favourite authors in correspondence.
In another life I would have been an architect. I travel to experience and see architecture. I love creating spaces; I can read them really well. Architecture has the power to change the way people live.
The best bit of advice I ever received came from a poem by Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa, authored under his pseudonym Ricardo Reis. In English, it’s more or less like this: “To be great, be whole. Do not exaggerate or exclude anything that is yours. Put all that you are into the least you do.” Nowadays, the world has so many distractions. It’s so easy to lose ourselves. We must try to be more present.
New furniture edited by Etel will be available at Aberto until 6 October, aberto.art