India Mahdavi (born April 4, 1962) is an Iranian-French architect and designer. Over 20 years since launching her own studio, Mahdavi has built a name for herself—working on large hospitality projects, luxury collaborations, and even launching her own furniture line. Often referred to as the “reigning queen of color,” Mahdavi is most known for her whimsical spaces and forms infused with playful palettes. Projects include the Hotel du Cloitre in Arles, Coburg Bar at London's Connaught Hotel, Monte Carlo Beach in Monaco, Rivington Hotel in Manhattan and the Townhouse Hotel in Miami.
Early life and education
India Mahdavi was born in 1962 in Tehran to a Persian father and English-Egyptian mother. Spending her early years in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Mahdavi’s love of color began with Disney movies, Bugs Bunny, Peanuts—even the colorful foods found in her lunchbox. In a New York Times interview, Mahdavi recalls her early life in America as "a time of very strong colors".
Raised in the United states, Germany, and France, Mahdavi’s heritage and cosmopolitan upbringing had a major influence on her work. Her studies took her to École des Beaux Arts in Paris, France, from 1980 to 1986, where she studied architecture, and eventually to New York, where she studied furniture design at Parsons and graphic design at the School of Visual Arts.
Later, Mahdavi met a restaurateur, Jonathan Morr, looking to open a hotel on a small budget – today known as the Townhouse Hotel. She went to Miami to see it and became the designer of the 80 bedroom stay. It would be one of her earliest projects that solidified and set the stage for her interior design career.
Design career
After her studies, Mahdavi returned to France to work as the artistic director of Christian Liagre for seven years and left in 1997 to start on her own. Today, she runs a studio, showroom, and shop, all steps away from each other on the Rue de Cases in Paris.
Hotels & Restaurants
Shortly before opening her studio in 2000, Mahdavi worked with restaurateur Jonathan Morr on Townhouse, Miami in 1999. A white slate with bright accent colors, the hotel serves as a backdrop to a “endless summer” retreat. This first hotel by Mahdavi explored what would later become her thesis; rich, bold colors to extend beyond the trends of time. Following Townhouse Miami, Mahdavi designed a series of restaurants and bars including the Condesa DF Hotel of Mexico City, At the Connaught in London, and Le Germain in Paris. Best known for its 5 meter tall resin silhouette of a woman, Le Germain’s brasserie was accompanied by a 30 person private cinema, both exploring the material possibilities to give identity to the spaces. Whimsical spaces such as Le Germain are no stranger to Mahdavi. Her design work also includes the design of the famous Laduree restaurant in three locations: Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Geneva. Each location indulges in a design and pastel color palette inspired by Marie Antoinette's style.
In 2014, Mahdavi was hired to design the Sketch Restaurant at the Gallery of London, a restaurant that goes through a redesign every two years. The restaurant has been dubbed the most shared restaurant in the world on Instagram by many, including India herself. Mahdavi called the space "an immersive installation of monochrome thought", and said that she wanted people to feel like they were in a film while in the space. Wrapping the walls are 250 drawings by the artist David Shrigley.
Retail & Residential
Mahdavi has also dabbled in a variety of retail and residential designs. With the popularity of Sketch came opportunities to design retail spaces for both Tod's and RedValentino, both of which infused furniture pieces from her line. Her residential projects are much like her retail and hospitality designs, packed with color and playfulness.
Furniture
Soon after founding her studio, Mahdavi began with an exploration into furniture pieces, and opened three showrooms along the Rue Las Casas in Paris, France. The first opening in 2003, and then two following in 2011 and 2020. These showrooms serve as windows into the spaces Mahdavi designs, both showcasing her furniture and different installations.. These furniture lines began in 2003, with a small sample of works, then grew and developed into another exploration, Petits Objets in 2011. Petits Objets includes many different pieces, both functional and decorative, and Mahdavi’s signature color palette that would be used in many of her designs.