Renowned architect and designer India Mahdavi has collaborated with Luca Pronzato, founder of We Are Ona, and Mexican chef Jesús Durón to create "Rose, c'est la vie," an immersive pop-up speakeasy that opened in Paris during Art Basel Paris 2025. Hidden behind an unmarked door in Paris's 7th arrondissement, the week-long installation transforms a former car repair shop into what Mahdavi describes as "an unexpected sanctuary of softness amid the intensity" of the art fair.
The radical speakeasy concept wraps every surface of the industrial space in a custom floral pink textile inspired by the Rose d'Ispahan, a small and fragrant Persian flower commonly used in decorative arts. Mahdavi calls the project an exploration of "the seriousness of happiness," reimagining hospitality as an emotional experience. "We're in a world that is quite aggressive right now," Mahdavi explained in an interview. "The past is past and the future – we don't know. My work is always about creating memories, ephemeral moments of happiness that you can take away with you."
The collaboration emerged from Pronzato's long-standing admiration for Mahdavi's work and his desire to bring more feminine perspectives to We Are Ona's projects. "At We Are Ona, we create culinary experiences where we like to invite not only guest chefs but also creatives, designers, artists, and architects to think in their own way about the culinary experience," Pronzato told reporters. "I've always dreamed of working with India Mahdavi, and I'm so happy to celebrate her work and let our guests experience her pop-up."
Mahdavi deliberately chose to create what she calls "a rupture" from We Are Ona's previous collaborations, which had primarily featured male designers and often embraced brutalist or minimalist aesthetics. "I thought I had to make a rupture," the Paris-based designer noted. "A continuity within the quality, of course, but a rupture with the aesthetics that were being brutalist, minimalist, etc. I wanted it to be immersive – the experience has to start from the street."
The venue selection process was crucial to achieving the element of surprise that Mahdavi sought. After reviewing multiple locations proposed by Pronzato's team, they settled on the old carrosserie (car workshop) specifically for its contrast potential. The rough industrial shell of the former automotive space provides a striking backdrop for Mahdavi's delicate transformation, creating an unexpected juxtaposition between masculine industrial architecture and ultra-feminine design elements.
The centerpiece of the design is the all-encompassing textile treatment that completely covers the interior space. Mahdavi worked with French textile company Pierre Frey to create the custom fabric, scaling up a rose pattern she had been developing for a fabric line. "The fabric gives you a very special feel," Mahdavi explained. "I've always been interested in designing patterns for fabrics or wallpapers, and that's part of my language. I use ornaments a lot in my work. It's a way of giving a new identity to a space that we're modifying."
The designer describes the radical use of floral patterns as "an ode to soft power," explaining that while soft power is typically subtle, covering an entire space with the pattern makes it "very powerful." The concept draws on familiar domestic environments where floral patterns are common, but elevates the approach to create something both nostalgic and avant-garde. "It's very fresh, very familiar, because we've all seen homes covered with floral patterns, and I'm just taking it to a different level, making it radical," she said.
The creative process involved extensive collaboration between Mahdavi and Pronzato, with the designer noting that We Are Ona provided "pretty much carte blanche" for the project. This freedom allowed Mahdavi to respond not only to the dining collective's aesthetic but also to the context of Art Basel Paris and her own design philosophy. The result is what she describes as creating "this feeling of being embraced by your grandmother" within the high-energy environment of an international art fair.
The pop-up represents a broader exploration of how design can create emotional responses and memorable experiences in temporary spaces. By transforming an industrial shell into an immersive, tactile environment, Mahdavi and her collaborators have created what they hope will be a lasting memory for visitors, embodying the designer's philosophy of creating "ephemeral moments of happiness" in an increasingly aggressive world.
