At celebrated couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s much celebrated silver jubilee show on Saturday evening, the muses emerged through the grand set, recreating the nostalgic charm of Calcutta. "A city of supreme opulence and cerebral sophistication", the capital of West Bengal—his lifelong resident— "remains the centre of Sabyasachi’s design sensibility".
At his 25th, the designer fused memory and modernity, lushness and longing, and heritage and hedonism. "As a Bengali, I've had access to this excellent mixing of hedonism with the sophistication of culture. This is the environment I grew up in. It has shaped my consciousness," the designer notes.
‘Where has love gone’, read a bejewelled shirt. ‘Table for One’, said another. His princesses were bejewelled, self-asserting queens. The princes, too, were decked out to the nines as they pranced in pride. The message was clear: when it comes to Sabyasachi, excess is excellent and shine is stellar.
Pointing his maximalist wand at menswear, Sabyasachi brought out big embellished statement jackets, jacquard suits, voluminous luxe outerwear, furry trousers and bejewelled tuxes. And a doggy dad jumper in pink for good measure.
“This collection is a pure act of co-creation and deep respect between the design house and the artisans. We forge this path because true icons can only be achieved through repetition,” says Sabyasachi about the collection.
“We firmly believe India is not a third-world economy but a first-world civilisation. It is the birthplace of luxury, where it has always belonged. Together, we will create India’s first global luxury brand,” the designer adds.
An eclectic mash up of diverse textures, Indian accents, colours and embroidery techniques strongly showcased the brand’s much-loved philosophy of infusing an Indian whiff into the air of global style.
Here’s to twenty-five of an icon, all set for global dominance.