PALETTES UNSEEN BY INDIA MAHDAVI

The globally celebrated Iranian-French architect and designer, India Mahdavi is a name that echoes with iconic design and charming aesthetics. Based in Paris, Mahdavi is known to challenge the ordinary perceptions of colour, hues & textures. Her eponymous design studio has conceived many places, bars, restaurants, clubs and hotels, which include The Gallery at Sketch London, famously known as “the most instagrammable restaurant in the world.”

India defines herself a polychrome and polyglot, and owes the eclecticism in her work to her childhood and life lived. For the colour connoisseur, each corner of her space is filtered through a cinematic frame, inducing drama into her spaces and revealing her passion about filmmaking boldly and unapologetically.

CHEZ NINA, MILANO

A kaleidoscopic haven, Chez Nina at Nilufar Gallery is tangible proof of India’s long love affair with colours. Vivid hues, mixed materials and eye-pleasing shapes, the designer’s spaces are just as layered as her upbringing and personality.

Named after Nina Yashar, founder of Nilufar Gallery, Chez Nina translates into “at the home of Nina” and only welcomes a selected coterie. Shimmering with unconventional aesthetics, like every other element in the room - the space exhibits lights exclusively designed by Danish designer Vibeke Fonnesberg.

For Chez Nina he unveiled a series of 8 creations, that flaunt quirky compositions with an interplay of Geometry & colours. This unseen semi-transparent lighting effect, illuminates the space while perfectly highlighting India’s whimsical colour scheme.

“Location is the starting point for all my projects, each fits one location, one client…”

The designer deploys colours to create an experience, her understanding of scale and proportion to create comfort, and her love for filmmaking to induce drama. True to her design philosophy, Chez Nina is much like an artist’s canvas, painted with colours that invoke feelings and emotions.

A rustic red flooring along with green walls, Mahdavi’s projects celebrate unimagined colour palettes. Her urge to create each space as an original work of art, is reflected in her designs by a perfect balance between sophistication and levity. Although her works flaunt a common language, the reinterpretation is different and unique for each project.

“Dare to use colour in interiors, one colour is never enough.”

Solid green walls punctuated with geometrical shapes, the space features an intuitive yet thoughtful composition. Multi-coloured lights bask the interiors in playful hues, while partaking in India’s greatest and most appreciated strength – creating spaces that induce emotions of happiness. No wall, corner or furniture piece in the space is untouched by India’s signature style and yet the co-existence between these diverse patterns seems natural.

A space fit to stimulate the senses and craft an indelible experience, something Mahdavi is known for integrating in all her designs. Much like herself, her space are true to their roots, making them original and irreplicable.

“If there is a common denominator to all my projects, it is the necessity of creating a sense of joy, a joie de vivre that I like to convey by using the primary colours of my emotions”

- INDIA MAHDAVI

OUR FAVOURITE WORKS BY THE ARTIST