It’s not just about design, it’s about curating an experience.

I started my fashion and lifestyle business, La Double J, by collaborating with historic Italian brands, focusing first on the creative women of Milan. You could say that my magic secret sauce is taking on the knowhow, the tradition, the quality, the classicism and the history of these Italian companies and shaking it up in a snow globe of color and informality. I think of it as bringing on the Double J joy factor.

Eight months before the hotel opened, Valentina and her parents invited me to visit the work in progress that was Passalacqua, back when it was a total construction site. She liked the idea of giving the pool area La Double J’s signature touch and I leapt at the opportunity, it felt like a convergence of energies that was just meant to be.

This was a little different from anything the company had done before. It was our first true interior design project – one that in this case also included exteriors. We’d designed furniture before, homeware, we’d planned table settings right down to the napkins, but this was the first time that we gave serious thought not just to the aesthetic side, the prints and shapes and colors, but to how people would experience the space.

"Valentina… liked the idea of giving the pool area La Double J’s signature touch and I leapt at the opportunity, it felt like a convergence of energies that was just meant to be.“

Passalacqua is pretty unique because as you’re gliding by on the lake in a boat it’s easy to pass it by. Like everything good in Italy, it’s a little bit hidden. And what I love about it is the way it unfolds, with so many different vistas and such a variety of spaces. It has an incredible suite that is bigger than any home I know in Milan, but it also has these secret corners where you can bond with nature, like the circle of magnolia trees next to the rose garden that is the perfect spot for morning yoga sessions, or the secluded jetty on the lake where I love to slip into the water and meditate.

The greenhouse behind the pool area dates back to the 19^th century. It had been looked after pretty well, but during the restoration of the Villa and grounds it had become a gardeners’ storeroom, full of wheelbarrows and bags of fertilizer, so some imagination was required to see how it could be turned around. What’s fun about it is that it’s now a convivial ambience that’s cool in summer and warm in winter. I wanted it to be a ‘joy space’, a light, bright environment that just makes people feel really good. And like everything at Passalacqua, it’s all down to the details. It’s not just about the way you design a space; it’s about how you curate an experience.