Talk of the Town: Fashion Star Marie-Anne Oudejans Designs a Bar in Jaipur - Remodelista
Somehow in the last year or so, all of the world’s most stylish people seemed to have touched down upon Jaipur, India, and decided to stay a while–and get some work done, too. Photographs by Neil Davenport. Of late Oudejans has been living at Jaipur’s historic (and happening) Narain Niwas Palace Hotel, where she’s been transforming the bar into one of the world’s most fanciful cocktail lounges. Your Campari and soda and Rajput club sandwich await in a field of blue and white flowers–with orange scalloped edging. Bar Palladio is owned by Barbara Miolini, a Swiss-Italian ex-pat who wanted to introduce an Italian-style lounge in her adopted home. “By drawing on royal Mughal style and the feeling of the opulence of the maharajahs from the 20th century... ...Marie-Anne created a space that pays homage to its Indian surroundings yet feel completely European at the same time,” says Amber-Grey Chiara Knowles, a kids’ fashion designer in Jaipur and Oudejans’ assistant on the project. “By drawing on royal Mughal style and the feeling of the opulence of the maharajahs from the 20th century... ...Marie-Anne created a space that pays homage to its Indian surroundings yet feels completely European at the same time,” says Amber-Grey Chiara Knowles, a children’s fashion designer and Oudejans’ assistant on the project. The glasses are old-fashioned crystal. The Veneto, where owner Miolini once lived, is part of the spirit of the place. Painted detailing and pierced walls in royal blue. Every detail, down to the pillow piping, was designed by Oudejans and fabricated by Jaipur artisans. Vikas Soni of Jeypur Arts painted the interior, including these murals of exotic birds under a tented ceiling. A field of flowers on a banquette; Lily Pulitzer would approve. The menu presents Italian fare served on formal china–and on the placemats that echo the architectural details. The multi-room bar has many quiet hideaways, including the White Room. A corner of the bar is presented as a fanciful stage set. The mood shifts to teal in a room off the main bar with classical Indian archways and embellishments. Drinks for five alongside a ram-shaped bowl Bar Palladio continues in the garden, newly splashed out with tented banquettes and flaming fire pits. And at India Song, you can catch up on all of this week’s discoveries (including Abode, the Ace Hotel of Mumbai).