Home tour: Inside Brazilian fashion entrepreneur Alexandre Birman’s vibrant and sophisticated São Paulo home

Birman is the head of South America’s largest fashion group, Arezzo&Co, consisting of some 30 different brands and originally founded in 1972 by his father. For many years, it specialised solely in footwear. Fans of his own eponymous label include Emily Blunt, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, and the late Iris Apfel wore a pair of Alexandre Birman loafers to her 102nd birthday celebrations.

In 2020, Birman decided to branch out into clothing and is currently focused on the global expansion of the vibrant Brazilian fashion brand, Farm Rio, which has gained popularity worldwide for its vivid tropical spirit and natural fabrics imbued with lush motifs depicting flora and fauna. Today, it operates six stores in the United States, as well as boutiques in destinations such as London, Paris, Mykonos and Dubai.

The six-bedroom São Paulo home Birman shares with his partner and three daughters, aged two to 12, is located atop a building that dates from the early 2010s; the apartment had never previously been occupied. Instead, it sat empty with its white walls and beige stone floors. “The guy who bought it off-plan never figured out what to do with it,” he reveals.

Even without making any changes to the layout, Birman knew the perfect person to help him transform it—one of Brazil’s leading interior designers, Meire Gomide, whose first name is pronounced “Mary”; she has been working for his family for decades. Now in her 70s, she recently teamed up with 34-year-old Caroline Marzano, who brings not only a youthful vitality to their partnership but also a more international perspective, splitting her time between her native Belo Horizonte and Paris. “Our age difference may be unusual,” admits Marzano, “but we’re very much on the same wavelength.” More than anything, they strive to endow each project with its own look. “We believe there’s no way to do a great house by copying and pasting,” insists Gomide.

In Birman, they had a client who had a very clear idea of what he wanted. Part of the inspiration for the interior came from the Bvlgari Hotel in Rome, where he had stayed shortly after its opening in mid-2023. “I called Caroline and told her, ‘Come here for the weekend because this is what I want,’” he recalls. “It’s sophisticated, yet casual.” The hotel dining room’s high-gloss wall panels were, for instance, reinterpreted in sustainable jacaranda wood for this home’s living room.

He had other very precise requests, too. When in town, he rarely eats out, preferring to entertain at home instead; he has had the same private chef for the past 20 years. To allow him to do so in particular style, Gomide came up with a clever design for a T-shaped dining table, whose longer section consists of two elements that can be rolled apart thanks to castors hidden in the legs. The resulting U form allows it to accommodate up to 18 people. For livelier parties, DJ equipment is concealed behind the room’s wood panelling.

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Birman also insisted on installing an over 20m-long lap pool on the terrace on the upper floor, which was lined with vivid-blue Sodalite stone. “It’s quite a feat of engineering,” he says. “With the water, it’s a 40-tonne weight on the top of a 21-storey building.” He was also determined to acquire an Alexander Calder mobile. The one he eventually found is of particular significance: “It was created in 1975—the year of my birth,” he smiles.

Stylistically, the São Paulo home deftly combines art deco elements, such as the Italian crystal chandeliers and the Michel Dufet wood marquetry cabinet in the dining area, with touches of Brazilian modernism. “Nothing is as dear to my heart as my own country’s mid-century design,” asserts Birman.

Inside the São Paulo home, there is vintage seating by many of the art deco movement’s most celebrated names, from Lina Bo Bardi and Sergio Rodrigues to Percifal Lafer, as well as several items by Jorge Zalszupin. “I have a special place in my heart for him,” admits Marzano. “His work is rooted in sensuality and has such graceful lines.”

There is also a curvaceous white sofa, which looks Scandinavian, but was actually created by the Swiss-born John Graz, who emigrated to Brazil in 1920. Local contemporary designers get a look-in too, particularly the São Paulo-based Lucas Recchia, who is responsible for a number of the tables in the apartment. “His work is really inventive,” notes Gomide. “He uses unusual shapes, which add a touch of personality to any project.”

The last elements to fall into place were the artworks. The large painting in the living room by Kazuya Sakai caused a few tense moments as it had to be hoisted in through the window of the São Paulo home due to its size. “São Paulo is a place where you can’t trust the weather,” says Marzano. “So, we had to pray for the skies to help us.” Most of the other paintings were chosen only a couple of days before Birman was due to move in.

One of the city’s leading galleries, Gomide&Co, is run by Gomide’s son Thiago, who turned up late at night with a selection of around 50 works to choose from. A number of those that made the cut are notable for their small size. “I personally like tiny canvases because they really make you pay attention to the details,” says Marzano.

The resulting decor is not only striking and original, but also perfectly suited to both Birman’s tastes and lifestyle. “It was kind of a chemistry project or a lab test,” he claims. “It was planned in the smallest detail, but came together in a very organic way.”

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