Even as a child growing up in Guarani, Brazil, Francisco Costa had a remarkably strong grasp of aesthetics—he was putting on fashion shows when most of his contemporaries were learning how to ride a bike. After arriving in New York City as a young man, Costa attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and then went straight to work in the Garment District, and by his late 30s he had landed one of its top jobs—the creative director of Calvin Klein Collection. A master of minimalism with maximum style, his much-lauded, 13-year tenure at the brand earned him a Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award and numerous honors from the C.F.D.A. Now he is remaking himself as a beauty magnate with Costa Brazil, a sustainable line of nutrient-rich creams, body and face oils, and candles that harness ingredients from the Amazon rain forest to renew and restore the body and spirit. Here, he shares his key components to the good life. —Ashley Baker
Bag: A crossbody satchel by Jonathan Anderson for Loewe.
Bedtime: 11 p.m.
Bike: An old one in my garage in Bellport, Long Island.
Birthday: One with no candles.
Breakfast, weekDAY: Bagel.
Breakfast, weekend: Bagel with lox.
Car: A vintage E-Type Jaguar.
Child: None.
Cocktail: Martini.
Cocktail appetizer: Caviar.
Couple: J.F.K. Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.
Dinner, weekday: At the Polo Bar, or my favorite ramen spot.
Dinner, weekend: I try new things at home.
Drive: Through the Atlas Mountains.
Enemy: Boredom.
Escape: Amazonia.
First Lady: Eleanor Roosevelt.
Good-bye: A French exit.
Hideaway: Brookhaven, New York.
HotelS: Fasano Rio de Janeiro, and the Ritz in Paris.
Jacket: Custom.
Last Meal:
Coq au vin.
Movie: All About Eve.
Neighbor: Angela Westwater.
Nonfiction book: 1808: The Flight of the Emperor, by Laurentino Gomes.
Novel: Memoirs of Hadrian.
Pants: Comme des Garçons.
Piece of advice: Trust more.
Podcast: The Daily, from The New York Times.
President: Obama.
Saying: “No good deed goes unpunished.”
SHOES: Birkenstock.
Singer: Adriana Calcanhotto.
Television series: Black Mirror.
Theme song to your life: “I Will Survive,” by Gloria Gaynor.
Time of day: Morning.
Vacation: Lençóis Maranhenses, in Brazil.
View: Rio, as seen from Niterói.
Wake-up time: Six a.m.
Work of art: One that was given to me by Ellsworth Kelly.
WRITING INSTRUMENT: A felt-tipped pen.
Francisco’s Musts
