Ladurée Aoyama by India Mahdavi: A 21st-Century Garden of Delights in Tokyo

Ladurée Aoyama opened in Tokyo in 2018, offering a boutique and salon de thé that reimagined the French pastry house through the playful architecture of India Mahdavi. Designed for Baycrew’s Co Ltd in the Omotesando area, the project combines the familiar romance of Ladurée with the energy of a contemporary Japanese neighbourhood.

Photograph: Gorta Yuuki — source publication: https://divisare.com/projects/398802-india-mahdavi-laduree-aoyama. Ladurée Aoyama, 2018, interiors by India Mahdavi. Image 1/5.

Mahdavi’s concept evokes a twenty-first-century Marie Antoinette entering an imaginary garden of delights. White latticework, floral lighting and a pastel palette recalling macarons give the salon an atmosphere between a winter garden and a modern fairy tale. The approach is not a reproduction of Versailles, but a fresh interpretation of French decorative traditions.

Photograph: Gorta Yuuki — source publication: https://divisare.com/projects/398802-india-mahdavi-laduree-aoyama. Ladurée Aoyama, 2018, interiors by India Mahdavi. Image 2/5.

Furniture reinforces the idea of sweetness and comfort. Scalloped banquettes in pink, yellow and green, white chairs and tables with twisting, candy-like bases are arranged on a graphic grey-and-white marble floor. Celadon and lavender walls frame the space, while flower-like glass lamps and meringue-shaped ceiling fixtures soften the light.

Photograph: Gorta Yuuki — source publication: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/india-mahdavi-ad100. Ladurée Aoyama, 2018, interiors by India Mahdavi. Image 3/5.

The Tokyo project followed Mahdavi’s interiors for Ladurée in Geneva and Los Angeles. Each location shares a common visual language while responding to its local context. Aoyama was imagined as an inviting experience rather than a simple shop: a place to browse, sit and enjoy tea and pastries in an immersive setting.

Photograph: Photographer not individually identified — source publication: https://omoharareal.com/navi/news/detail/938. Ladurée Aoyama, 2018, interiors by India Mahdavi. Image 4/5.

The five photographs used in this article document the Aoyama salon designed in 2018. Images one to three are published with credit to photographer Gorta Yuuki; images four and five come from Japanese local design and neighbourhood publications where an individual photographer is not confirmed. Every image source is identified alongside its caption.

Photograph: Photographer not individually identified — source publication: https://greenseed.jp/blog/laduree-aoyama-4660.html. Ladurée Aoyama, 2018, interiors by India Mahdavi. Image 5/5.

Ladurée Aoyama — project and photography sources

Project: Ladurée Aoyama, Tokyo, 2018. Interior design India Mahdavi. Client: Baycrew’s Co Ltd. Official project record: https://india-mahdavi.com/en/projects/interiors/26-laduree-aoyama. First three image credits: Gorta Yuuki via Divisare and Architectural Digest. Images four and five: Japanese publications OMOHARAREAL and GreenSeed; individual photographer not specified.