Editorial Review

In a 19th Century mansion once home to the Duchess of Rivoli, designer Martin Margiela dispenses with the 5-star frippery, and dispassionate postmodern pastiche with a veritable sea of stark, ideological and unforgiving blanc, set against the lavishly baroque existing interiors. Rooms are startlingly simple, with wood floors, white fabric chairs, and, well, not a whole lot else. Public areas, also exceedingly white, are rife with optical illusions and curiosities, from modern trompe-l'oeil, to "disorderly' flagstone paving to bizarre oversized mushrooms. Contrast comes by way of Bar du Nuit, conversely done up in glowing red light, while scorched wood and dark leather make the Black Cigar Bar an almost gothic affair. Table du Huit restaurant, helmed by Benoit Hilaire, flaunts chairs that appear to hover above the waxed concrete floor.