L’oscar is named after and inspired by writer Oscar Wilde. The hotel sits in the heart of London’s historic literary neighbourhood Bloomsbury

Jacques Garcia is the master of decadent design. His portfolio includes the likes of Hôtel Costes in Paris, La Mamounia in Marrakech and NYC’s NoMad. Now the French designer is bringing a touch of Parisian style to London with luxury boutique hotel, L’oscar. He talks to LUX about Oscar Wilde,  alluring atmospheres and the importance of low lighting

LUX: How did you come up with the concept from L’oscar? What’s your creative process like?
Jacques Garcia: Although I’ve had many proposals to do concept design projects in London, L’oscar is only my second public project in the city after Ronnie Scott’s. What particularly seduced me about this project is the fact that the building has a history, it was a former [Baptist Church]. I had to think of ways to work with the structure of the existing building and its history, whilst incorporating modernity through colours and fabrics.

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So for the decor, I imagined that I was Oscar Wilde. Twenty years ago, I created Hotel des Beaux Arts, where I imagined Oscar Wilde’s last bedroom when he was living in Paris. I imagined it as if he lived in a very nice apartment, although in reality he was very poor at the end of his life. I was interested in showing the paradox of the writer’s glory and achievements, and the way he was treated by people for his personal convictions at the time. I returned to the story of Oscar Wilde for this hotel because he is someone that I am continually drawn to – the name of the hotel, of course, is in his honour: L’oscar (the Oscar).

Jacques Garcia in L’oscar

LUX: Did the building present any design challenges?
Jacques Garcia: Yes, it was very difficult to work with and it took a long time. It was like doing a hotel in New York. London and New York are two of the most difficult cities to for hospitality projects, especially when you’re working with buildings that are listed or historical. But when I like a project, I’m like a kid and even if it takes 9 months, I still love it at the end.

Read more: Wandering Paris with Moynat’s Artistic Director, Ramesh Nair

LUX: Why do you think Parisian style is so desirable?
Jacques Garcia: For a very simple reason: no one ever speaks about the sexiness of the London girl, but everyone always talks about the sexiness of the Parisian girl. This is because the Parisian girl is an attitude, whereas there’s a certain rigidity to the English and also an elegance that the French don’t have. But the English, in my opinion, are missing the attitude. That’s the allure.

LUX: You once said that “before everything, I am a creator of atmosphere.” How do you go about creating an atmosphere?
Jacques Garcia: Personally, I am not a big fan of public spaces. I am very lucky to have an extraordinary house and friends who have extraordinary houses so in my personal life I have no real reason to go to public spaces like a hotel – unless it is to meet and to be seduced by people. People go to public places meet other people, and for me, that’s the starting point when considering atmosphere. I create places where people can meet and seduce. That begins with choosing comfortable chairs, the right lighting. People look better in dim light, always.

LUX: Your designs often incorporate opulent fabrics – where do you source your materials?
Jacques Garcia: I used a lot of fabrics in L’oscar particularly, but since the peacock was the emblem of Oscar Wilde, I wanted to utilise that pattern and used special fabrics sourced from England and France. Mixing colours, especially unusual colours, was very important for me in this project, which is difficult to do, if you do it wrong, you risk the design becoming kitsch. It’s a very thin line, much like a haute couture collection – sometimes it can just work, it can be incredible and sometimes it doesn’t.

Read more: Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar’s mesmerising art opening on Cap Ferrat

LUX: How much of a consideration is sustainability when designing?
Jacques Garcia: I recently went on a trip to Saudi Arabia. I was in the middle of the desert and there was air conditioning, but a natural system of air conditioning that was used in the old desert houses of 12th century: windows! And of course, the way the house was structured to keep it cool. The projects I work on are different to this. For example, I use a lot of fabrics. Think of my older hotels like the Costes or the NoMad. People are coming into those hotels from 7am to 3am, they are using the seats for working or socialising 20 hours a day and so the fabric wears out and you have to change the upholstery. In that way, it’s not really sustainable. I would love to be more sustainable, but there are also regulations I have to consider such as fire. Plastic treatment on silk is unfortunately mandatory. To use real silk or real corduroy would be more ecological, but unfortunately we have to have the fabrics treated. I hope that businesses will integrate sustainability into their day to day operations once the project is complete. L’oscar, for example, have started by avoiding the use of plastic straws.

The walls and ceilings of the Café L’oscar are lined with mirrors, gold panels, and original art.

LUX: Which hotel design(s) are you most proud of?
Jacques Garcia: As well as L’oscar, my favourites are The Mamounia and La Réserve in Paris. My house, the Chateau du Champ-de-Bataille, is also one of my favourites!

LUX: And can you tell us about your upcoming projects?
Jacques Garcia: I have a hotel opening soon in Singapore, a private house in Rome, there’s a hotel in Rome as well. There’s a very big hotel in Doha. Private residences in the Gulf. A new NoMad has recently opened in Los Angeles. There are a lot of projects going on!

LUX: What’s your favourite city in the world?
Jacques Garcia: Paris. Why? Because the Parisians.

L’oscar opens in Bloomsbury, London on 17th September. To make a booking visit: loscar.com
To view more of Jacques Garcia’s work visit: studiojacquesgarcia.com

A decadent Junior Suite at the Saint James Hotel, Paris

Paris is by no means a new luxury destination – the international city of love is home to the world’s best restaurants, haute couture and the avant-garde art scene – and yet its charm never gets old. Digital Editor Millie Walton ventures into one of the city’s lesser known neighbourhoods, alongside the Bois de Boulogne, to re-discover Le Corbusier, Monet and the lasting allure of authentic French decadence 

It hasn’t felt much like Spring the last few weeks in London and when we arrive in Paris, it seems Spring hasn’t arrived there yet either. It’s lightly, prettily snowing, in a way that’s so picturesque, it feels as if we’ve stepped inside a snow globe, but still it’s cold, bitterly so and we’re pleased to cocoon ourselves in the warmth of Saint James’ hotel for lunch at the one Michelin star, The Restaurant. However, in Paris, Michelin stars are scattered so densely across the city that it’s not really the accolade that stands out, but rather – and rightly so – the service, the atmosphere, that irresistible aura of je ne sais quoi.

The Restaurant, headed by Chef Jean-Luc Rocha

It helps, on a day like this, that The Restaurant, like the rest of the hotel, is snugly grand as opposed to cool minimalist with dark walls, warm bulbs, velvets, silks and portraits of buxom ladies hanging on the wall. It feels oh so Parisian and decadent, and even without dining it would be an experience to sit and observe the well dressed guests arriving to be seated with their Chanel handbags perched on their own cushioned stalls alongside the table. Lunch is hotel guests only, so it’s quieter, more relaxed; we’re greeted by Chef Jean-Luc Rocha who recommends the escargots with souffléd crepes as his favourite dish (it happens to be ours too), along with the lobster and chestnut ravioli to start followed by scallops cooked in saffron-flavoured risotto and the filet of turbot. Each mouthful is bursting with flavour, rich, delicate and precisely the right portion sizes so that we’re satisfied rather than overwhelmed. Halfway through the meal, we’re joined by Pilou, the hotel’s resident black cat, who swirls round our legs and then curls up on a velvet bench in a corner. An enviable life he must lead – we’re almost tempted to do the same, to retreat to the spa then to our suite, but later, later, we’re here to explore.

Pilou, the hotel’s resident feline roams freely throughout the property. Image by James Houston

Le Corbusier’s Villa La Roche was designed in 1925 as a resident for Swiss banker Raoul La Roche, who was also a collector of avant-garde artwork and the residence was designed as both gallery and home. It’s located in a lesser-known – or at least lesser to tourists – neighbourhood and it takes us a few loops to find our way, down an alleyway and through the door at which we’re stopped to pull plastic slips over our shoes, like at the Taj Mahal, which might seem like an odd comparison but to many architects and aesthete’s this villa is one of the ultimate monuments to modern housing. The interiors are playful and flowing with a curved sweeping walkway leading to an upper gallery, dark grey, lucid blue and pale sienna walls and cut out sections that serve as platforms and frames. The house leads you through a very particular kind of spatial experience, culminating in the rooftop terrace from which we gaze over the Parisian rooftops, puffing clouds of breath like a line of small human chimneys.

Close by too is Musée Marmottan Monet, which houses the greatest collection of Monet’s paintings worldwide – from his earlier years to the development of his signature style, the famous water lily scenes – as well as various temporary exhibitions. There’s something particularly special about standing in front of a Monet in a 19th century mansion in Paris, it feels right and proper and yet, we’re disappointed by the lighting (a mistake by the museum) which casts an usual glare over some of the more delicate pieces, slightly disturbing their enchanting atmosphere.

A curious visitor inside Villa La Roche. Image by James Houston

Outside the snow has settled – nature’s art-  so we wander back to the hotel on foot; about a 30 minute brisk walk that takes us by the Eiffel Tower and whilst many French artists and aestheticians of the late 19th century – including writer Guy de Maupassant who reportedly at lunch in the tower’s restaurant every day for years so that he didn’t have to see the structure itself – despised the monument, it’s always a delight to see and I’m filled with a childish kind of excitement. ‘Can we come back at night?’ I beg my travelling companion who agrees no trip to Paris is complete without seeing the tower at least a handful of times day and night, even if it is freezing and the snow has turned to sleet.

We thaw our frozen limbs back in the hotel’s library bar with a glass of Bailey’s before disappearing into the fairy-tale romance of our royal red and gold suite. Springtime in Paris, snow or not, is brimming with aesthetic delights and real decadence; we’re thirsty for more.

Stay at Saint James Paris from €390 per night (approx. £ 350 /$ 500) for a Boudoir Room.