Luxury designer of India - Sabyasachi Mukherjee

|THE DEN|

“Sabyasachi Mukherjee”

When one thinks of Sabyasachi, one thinks of sarees, and the two are inextricably linked in Indian fashion for numerous years. Sabyasachi’s creations are a mix of the past, present, & future, and this is what distinguishes him as one of India’s most influential modern designers.

Sabyasachi Mukherjee was born to a middle-class Bengali family in Kolkata. His parents couldn’t understand why he wanted to design garments and refused to pay for his tuition because they wanted him to be an engineer. Sabyasachi subsequently sold all of his books and used the proceeds to fund his study at NIFT, one of India’s most prominent fashion schools.

His unique colour and fabric choices give his works a unique touch. One would never think of putting four distinct colours in four different portions of a sari with four different motifs, but Sabyasachi’s end product makes one believe that it is conceivable and achievable. His signature is a fusion of different patchwork motifs over brilliant hues.

Old world and vintage, all of the themes and techniques used have a strong Indian influence. “International styling with an Indian soul”, he says. While the entire fashion industry has embraced modern-day ideas and techniques, Sabyasachi’s creations remain firmly rooted in the reality of India.

There isn’t a single Bollywood diva who hasn’t stepped out in a Sabyasachi gown. They’ve all worn a Sabyasachi sari or salwar kurta, from Aishwarya Rai, Vidya Balan, Sri Devi, Rani Mukherjee, Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, and the ageless beauty Hema Malini. Several of his designs have also been shown at international fashion weeks, including New York Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week, and Miami Fashion Week.

Vidya Balan, a prominent Bollywood actress, wore only Sabyasachi designs in the form of saris or lehengas during the recent Cannes film festival in Paris. International stars like Reese Witherspoon and Rene Zellweger have lent their backing to his collections.

His unique colour and fabric choices give his works a unique touch. One would never think of putting four distinct colours in four different portions of a sari with four different motifs.

He believes it fuels more business for the traditional arts and crafts. So last year, when Bollywood’s sweetheart, Deepika Padukone, approached the 45-year-old fashion designer for her trousseau, Sabyasachi had an interesting plan. “I told her, ‘Let’s make something very relatable. So relatable it gets furiously copied. Otherwise, what’s the point’,” he says.

That’s how Padukone’s red matka silk lehenga was born, with Sada Saubhagyavati Bhava [‘May you always have good fortune’ in Sanskrit] embroidered along the dupatta. The first Instagram photographs of the lehenga that Padukone posted have more than 4 million likes.

Mukherjee designed not only for Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh’s wedding last year, but also for Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas’ and Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal’s. Sabyasachi is known for its rich traditional wedding lehengas and sherwanis, which start at around 1 lakh and may go up to 10 lakh. Mukherjee has had tremendous success as a designer over the last two decades, but he is far from finished. He aims to build a global premium lifestyle brand that covers everything from sensitives and perfume to cosmetics and home furnishings, rather than just wedding attire.