Low Volume

Paule Ka founder Serge Cajfinger swaps Paris for Bahia, and a beach house by Marcio Kogan

- Amy Serafin

A decade ago, the Frenchman Serge Cajfinger spotted Marcio Kogan’s Paraty House in an issue of Wallpaper* (W*131). He was so smitten, he told another magazine (it’s allowed) that he dreamed of having his own house built by the Brazilian architect some day. By chance, Kogan saw this article, and wondered, ‘Who is this guy?’

Cajfinger, 64, founded fashion brand Paule Ka in 1988. By the time he sold a majority stake, in 2011, the company had annual sales of around €40m. Cajfinger had spent the first years of his life in Brazil and now he wanted to retire there full time, to build a casa na areia – a ‘house on the sand’. When he finally contacted Kogan, in 2015, the architect’s first response was, ‘I’ve been waiting for you.’

Kogan advised him to buy a plot near Trancoso, a low-key, beautifully preserved seaside town in Bahia province, home to a mix of locals and international jet-setters. There was very little beachfront land for sale, but Cajfinger got lucky and learned that a friend of a friend was selling a 6,427 sq m plot by the sea. He sold his Quai Voltaire apartment in Paris and bought it.