Sofa and chair set - MP91 & MP163

Born in São Paulo in 1936 into a family of Brazilian furniture manufacturers, Percival Lafer trained as an architect at the Mackenzie School before joining the family firm, Lafer S.A. He turned what had been a domestic operation into one of Brazil's largest furniture exporters — designing seating that fused Brazilian rosewood frames with sumptuous leather upholstery and, crucially, modular comfort that could be shipped flat across continents.

Lafer's sofas of the 1960s and 70s — most famously the MP-001 and MP-097 series — became emblems of Brazilian mid-century design abroad, defining the look of high-end interiors in São Paulo, New York and Tokyo. His work is now widely collected on the international vintage market.