Isabelle Dubern-Mallevays, Anna Zaoui and Lily Froehlicher first found India at their doorstep when Sonam Kapoor Ahuja borrowed a few pieces from their collection for an AD India cover story in 2021. “It was around Covid and the frontiers were completely closed,” explains Dubern-Mallevays. “Nothing could travel, but we arranged for a mirror, a table and a few objects to be placed in her beautiful Notting Hill home.” Like a perfect match, the pieces blended into Kapoor’s space and there began Invisible Collection’s decision to foray into India.
Founded by the French duo in London, Invisible Collection was created as a gallery-meets showroom. Together, the cofounders curate exclusive, handcrafted furniture and design pieces from global artisans and designers for a discerning clientele that appreciates storytelling, craft. and above all, good design. “We’re both in love with design, but it’s more than just beautiful furniture. It’s about creating a world, piece by piece, that holds meaning,” says Dubern-Mallevays. “Isabelle and I both come from different backgrounds, but we share the same deep love for design,” Froehlicher reflects. Froehlicher is a digital marketing strategist for luxury brands, and has worked for the likes of Hermès and Chanel, whereas Dubern-Mallevays is an entrepreneur who founded her own consulting agency in luxury, and worked as Creative Director at Dior Maison. At Dior, Froehlicher and Dubern-Mallevays worked together for the first time.
“For us, each piece holds a narrative, a voice,” says Froehlicher. This intimate approach to savoir faire and interiors has attracted collectors to their gallery-showroom in the iconic Steinway Tower in New York and their other space in the heart of Los Angeles. Now, they are setting their sights on a new cultural chapter: India.
“India was always meant to be part of our story,” Dubern-Mallevays says. On a recent trip to India, they celebrated the launch of a collaboration with designer Ashiesh Shah. They met artisans and designers, visited markets and came across luxurious textiles to understand Indian tastes in a new way. “There’s a unique sense of soul in Indian design,” Froehlicher notes, “something that combines tradition with contemporary elegance. We see a deep respect for craftsmanship in India, which mirrors our own.” A longtime collaborator and fellow Frenchman and Indophile, Jean François Lesage of Lesage Intérieurs sees the gallery’s India expansion as “a platform for Indian designers and craftspeople to share their 21st-century vision of the Indian spirit with the world”. It’s this nuanced sensibility they seek to honour as they introduce their collection to India. Everything from Studio Biehler-Graveleine’s Collins armchair, upholstered in Lesage Intérieurs’ embroidery, to Marion Stora’s Kiss bed will be part of an Indian aesthete’s discovery process as they walk into the Mumbai gallery-showroom opening in 2025.
Also read: A furniture-artwork pairing comes together to match artist Hugo Yoshikawa’s playful style
Also read: Rooshad Shroff's latest collection features glass beads hand-embroidered onto furniture
Also read: Sage Living’s Mahabharata-inspired furniture line is a striking tribute to the Indian epic
