Party People

AT HOME IN NEW YORK CITY, ARTIST LAILA GOHAR AND CHEF IGNACIO MATTOS MIX WORK AND PLAY, TURNING THEIR AIRY TRIBECA LOFT INTO A LIVING LABORATORY

- HANNAH MARTIN

LAILA GOHAR (WEARING A MIU MIU COAT, PRADA PUMPS, AND GOHAR WORLD GLOVES) WITH HER SON, PAZ, AT HOME IN MANHATTAN WITH AN EXTRA-LONG BAGUETTE AND A BEVY OF PLAYTHINGS. OPPOSITE GOHAR AND MATTOS'S FRIDGE IS STOCKED.

There’s an open-door policy at the Manhattan home of artist Laila Gohar and chef Ignacio Mattos. On any given day or night, some mix of creative friends might, children often in tow, drop by the couple's Tribeca loft for a bowl of soup, a glass of Champagne, or a taste of whatever else is on the menu. “Cooking is this act of nurturing that’s very powerful,” says Gohar, known for her food installations and surrealistic product line, Gohar World, cofounded with her sister Nadia. “There’s the smell, the rituals around it, setting the table, the mess, the sound of the dishes, all of it. It’s very multisensory.”

The couple had been trying out life on New York’s Upper West Side when Gohar got pregnant in 2022. The impending life change pulled them back downtown. She wanted to be closer to her friends and studio, and Mattos his restaurants, Estela and Altro Paradiso. When a friend told Gohar about a Tribeca apartment in a building filled with artists, they took it immediately. “I love living in a loft,” says Mattos. “It gets messy very quickly, but it has such great energy.”

FLANKED BY HER PARTNER, CHEF IGNACIO MATTOS, AND THEIR SON, PAZ, GOHAR DRESSED IN LOEWE-STANDS ON THE FAMILY'S WILLY RIZZO COCKTAIL TABLE; CHAISE LONGUE BY LE CORBUSIER, VINTAGE LAMP BY ISAMU NOGUCHI, AND WINDOW TREATMENTS BY RAFAEL PRIETO AND KRITIKA MANCHANDA.