SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE

SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE IS NOT MERELY A COUTURIER - THE MAN IS AN ARTIST. HIS CREATIVE PROWESS DEMANDS A STRONGER REINFORCEMENT OF HIS BRAND. INDIA'S ANSWER TO GLOBAL LUXURY, HE'S TAKEN OUR HERITAGE TO THE WORLD THROUGH COLLABORATIONS WITH LOUBOUTIN & POTTERY BARN. AND NOW HE SEALS HIS DOMINANCE WITH THE OPENING OF HIS NEW YORK BOUTIQUE. IN CONVERSATION WITH HELLO!, HE SHARES HIS GLOBAL VISION THAT STAYS TRUE TO HIS ROOTS

- ANSHU KHANNA

The Jamaican national motto celebrates its multi-racial music by saying, "Out of many, one." Strangely, the same motto fits the Indian couture industry that's brilliantly represented by the one national icon of design and aesthetic refinement: Sabyasachi Mukherjee. His omnipresence and sheer richness of design leaving competition if any miles behind, the beauty being that this winner takes it all purely on the merit of his creative cadence, originality of design, and depth of knowledge.

Kolkata's golden boy, Sabyasachi carries a bit of the city with him wherever he goes, its layered culture peeping through his design in more ways than one. Be it in the colonial influence of his colour palette, reminiscent of the life lived in Tolly Club. Or the way he has immortalised the colour red that somehow always feels like a shade of alta (red henna) that Bengali women wear on their feet. Or the Bengal tiger that emerges with much aplomb across his belts, bags, and jewels.

There are many firsts to his credit: the ushering in of floral prints into the otherwise overembellished lehenga story; the scrunched belt look over a billowy lehenga, the slender-faced woman with spectacles on his ramp; the interplay of layered and embroidered borders on an otherwise rich, raw silk canvas; the dandy man who is bold on his colours and banna (a rooted reference to a Rajput man) in his panache. The couturier sets trends even when all he wishes to pursue is timeless tales enriched by eternal heritage.

That every iconic bride wishes to 'wear a Sabya' is a given. The magic is in the way he makes their inner personality resonate with his design. The white and gold look in a saree crafted for the young and bubbly Alia Bhatt, the mature wine palette he complimented Katrina Kaif's beauty with, the bold bride he sculpted out of Priyanka Chopra... Every Sabyasachi bride blends his very recognizable fashion fable with her strong, innate personality.