india mahdavi and we are ona present rose, c’est la vie
Hidden behind an unmarked door in Paris’ 7th arrondissement, ‘Rose, c’est la vie’ is an unexpected sanctuary of softness amid the intensity of Art Basel Paris 2025, conceived by architect and designer India Mahdavi in collaboration with Luca Pronzato, founder of We Are Ona, and Mexican chef Jesús Durón. The week-long pop-up is set inside a former car repair shop, turned into a radical speakeasy of texture, warmth, and color, where every surface is swathed in a floral pink textile inspired by the Rose d’Ispahan. The project reimagines hospitality as an act of emotion, what Mahdavi calls ‘the seriousness of happiness.’
On the occasion of the event, designboom speaks with Mahdavi and Pronzato about the origins of their collaboration and the making of this multisensory dining experience. ‘We’re in a world that is quite aggressive right now,’ Mahdavi tells us. ‘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.’
images by Laurent Giannesini, unless stated otherwise
a speakeasy of softness at art basel paris
As Pronzato explains, the collaboration grew out of a long-standing admiration for Mahdavi’s work. ‘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,’ the founder of the nomadic dining collective shares with designboom. ‘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.’
What began as conversations between Paris and Mexico evolved into the idea of an ‘ultra-feminine, feminist speakeasy.’ For Mahdavi, this was a conscious departure from We Are Ona’s earlier projects, which had been mainly led by men. ‘I thought I had to make a rupture,’ the Paris-based architect and designer notes. ‘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. Where are you going? How do you enter? There should be a bit of a surprise.’
That sense of discovery guided the search for the venue. After reviewing several options, the team settled on an old carrosserie, a former car workshop, where the rough industrial shell could contrast with Mahdavi’s delicate transformation, as her design wraps the entire interior in a bespoke textile inspired by the Rose d’Ispahan, a small and fragrant Persian flower often used in decorative arts. Find our full conversation with Luca Pronzato of We Are Ona and India Mahdavi below.
‘Rose, c’est la vie’ is an unexpected sanctuary of softness amid the intensity
in conversation with India Mahdavi and Luca Pronzato
designboom (DB): How did the idea for this collaboration come about?
Luca Pronzato (LP): 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. I’ve always dreamed of working with India Mahdavi. We’ve been talking about it for a very long time, and I’m so happy to celebrate India’s work and to let the We Are Ona guests experience her pop-up.
the week-long pop-up is set inside a former car repair shop
DB: Was the location something that We Are Ona decided first and then invited India, or did you discuss it together?
LP: What I love about the creative process is the conversation that we have had along the way with India. It’s pretty much carte blanche at We Are Ona. I remember India talking to me about this idea of creating a super feminine speakeasy, where you can push a door in Paris and arrive in her world.
India Mahdavi (IM): One of the first things I noticed was that We Are Ona has mainly worked with men and fewer women. I thought I had to really make sort of a rupture, a continuity within the quality, of course, but sort of a rupture with the aesthetics that were being sort of brutalist, minimalist, etc. I wanted it to be a very immersive experience. The experience has to start from the street. Where are you going? How do you enter? There should be a bit of a surprise.
I started working with the idea of a floral fabric, which was inspired by the rose of Isfahan, Iran. It’s a small, beautiful rose that has the most incredible perfume. I just took it to a different scale, and it turned into this kind of shimmery, feminine world. I felt like within this environment of the art fair, it would be nice to have this feeling of being embraced by your grandmother, in a way. So, the project was crafted by me responding not only to We Are Ona, but also to the event in Paris, and to my own aesthetics. What’s interesting about this experience is that you’re free to work with your imagination.
Then, when I showed my idea to Luca, he loved it. Still, we had to find a place where we could have this element of surprise. Luca and his team proposed five to ten spaces. We investigated what sequences we could create around each of them, and then chose the one that worked best.
the industrial shell contrasts with Mahdavi’s delicate transformation
DB: So, you wanted to create a contrast between something typically seen as masculine, like a car workshop, and a much softer, more delicate atmosphere?
IM: It’s an old carrosserie that had been transformed into an office space, but there was still this roughness due to the industrial feel of the building. The way you enter is the main surprise element. But in any case, yes, it’s a contrast: having this space, which is rough and completely covered in one pattern.
Mahdavi’s design wraps the entire interior in a bespoke textile inspired by the Rose d’Ispahan
DB: Could you elaborate on the design concept, especially the all-over textile treatment, and how it contributes to the tactile and immersive quality of the space?
IM: The fabric gives you a very special feel. 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. It’s an efficient and beautiful way of doing that.
At that moment, I was also designing a line of fabrics for this French company called Pierre Frey. So, we used that as a base, we took this fabric, scaled it, and worked with them to produce it. It’s based on the rose. 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. It’s an ode to soft power because soft power is something subtle that does exist, but when you have it all over, it becomes very powerful.