Look Inside… An Underwater Inspired Mandarin Oriental Suite

While Pantone has yet to announce its hotly anticipated colour of the year, the colour house has been flaunting one particularly nautical shade. Earlier this year, the Pantone Colour Institute launched its collaboration with Mandarin Oriental Hotels to create a new iconic colour for the hospitality brand. Introducing: Celadon Green. A little bit watery, a little bit ethereal, the colour is now the star attraction of the Pantone Celadon Suite at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hyde Park, London.

Working alongside Paris-based design collective Uchronia – best known for its playful and psychedelic aesthetic – the suite was first unveiled as part of Frieze London last month where visitors could enjoy an immersive encounter with the shade. Now open for guests to stay a night (or two), we caught up with Uchronia founder Julien Sebban to find out more about the underwater world he created.

Mandarin Oriental X Pantone: Inside Uchronia’s Design

Founded in 2019, Uchronia is focused on the concept of ‘joyful hospitality’: ‘Creating spaces where people really feel at ease that are colourful yet very crafted’ is the essence of the brand, explains founder Julien. Having made Uchronia a well-respected name in only six short years, Julien puts the success of the interiors house down to the freedom and creativity of his team who are unconstrained by strict rules. 

Known for its bold and emotionally resonant spaces, this latest Uchronia design fuses vibrant forms, tactical textures and British craftsmanship to create a physical expression of Celadon Green. Designed to surprise and soothe in equal measure, the suite features everything from colour drenched bedsheets and bespoke artwork to sculptural vases, bath accessories and custom-designed furnishings. 

Famous for its use of colour, Uchronia was contacted by the Mandarin Oriental to bring the Pantone collaboration to life. Describing the colour as possessing both ‘serenity and strength’, Julien explains that it is a shade that carries a lot of cultural heritage. A mix of blue and green, he sees Celadon Green as a ‘very Eastern colour’, evoking an Asian feel in line with the hotel’s Hong Kong origins. Beyond these more intangible connotations, however, the one aspect that really stood out was how much it looks like the sea: ‘And I love creating underwater worlds,’ Julien says with a smile.

Led by this response, the calming feel of the sea inspired a whimsical intallation, in which a shimmering, surreal underwater world is created through layered textures and playful proportions. ‘Working with this colour was very interesting, because it was looking at water and the water under changing lights, and how this could affect our perception of that,’ Julien explains. 

Discussing how the collaboration allowed him to ‘explore the poetry of colour as an immersive form of design’, this was Julien’s first time creating a room around the feelings inspired by a specific shade, besides of course from the Uchronian orange which recurs throughout all of his designs – and can be seen here peeking out of the cushions, covers and drapes.

Alongside the underwater vibe, Julien wanted the bedroom to feel like a twist on the legacy of the Mandarin Oriental itself: ‘That was very important for this project. What twist can you bring into a very old place with lots of status which has existed for many, many years? How can you bring modernity into that? What youth can you bring in? And what can be the link between the two?’ Despite the distance between his design portfolio and the classic interiors of the hotel, Julien didn’t feel pressured to rein in his vision. ‘When people contact us, they know what they’re getting,’ he says with a shrug. Striking the balance between new and old, tranquility and playfulness, luxury and modernity, comfort and fun, Julien ‘sought to craft a space that evolves with the guest’s mood’. The link that ties it all together? British craftsmanship. 

When he’s in France Julien only ever works with French crafts, and wanted to honour the same traditions over the channel. Bemoaning the plainness of our ever globalised world (where you can enjoy eggs and avocado on toast for breakfast in every hotel around the globe), he is saddened by how little people immerse themselves in new places on their travels. ‘Obviously that immersion still exists, but I think it should really be highlighted that every country, every city, has its own specificities, has its own magic. That’s why when doing a project in Hyde Park London it was very important to highlight British designers and craft people and artists, because it’s their city.’

One key to celebrating this British design in the suite was the rich heritage of British quilting. With comfort at the fore, Julilen incorporated a giant flower quilt which looks like water dripping off the bed. Other key features include drinking glasses whose water-dripping rims match the ceiling and Julien’s favourite: the water dripping curtains done up in a coral reef of colour. While they took a lot of effort to produce, he explains that it’s that effort which makes them special. ‘It’s all about comfort,’ he adds. ‘There is a lot of softness with all of the fabrics that we have developed.’

While maintaining the ‘fancy’ feel of the hotel (as the price tag makes necessary), the fun part for Julien was figuring out how to change and elevate every aspect of the room to be inspire interest and intrigue. ‘That’s the kind of project that I love the most,’ he says. He hopes the design will get guests questioning, interested, and even ‘a little bit triggered’: ‘What is this? What is that? That’s when the room becomes more interactive so that the customer, rather than watching TV or his phone, sees detail in every part.’

Beyond the room itself, the Pantone Celadon Suite experience extends into the spa with a new one hour treatment inspired by Celadonite – a crystal revered for its restorative qualities. In the room itself, the package stay includes a full English breakfast, two limited edition T-shirts with a single Celadon stitch, a matcha Celadon Green tea ritual, two Celadon Green cocktails, a Celadon Green spa treatment, and other Celadon Green inspired benefits and amenities. 

The Pantone Celadon Suite is available to guests from now until December. The Pantone Celadon Suite package is priced from £3,000 per night for two guests. Find out more at mandarinoriental.com