Decoding the look and feel of a Sabya
Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s brand has turned 25. A new India has emerged in these years, and the fashion designer is an intrinsic part of that story
The Republic Day weekend marked the 25th-anniversary celebrations of Sabyasachi’s brand. Over 600 guests, including international buyers, editors, and models, gathered at the Tony Jio Convention Centre in Mumbai for a fashion show. Bollywood royalty Deepika Padukone made her grand return to the runway post-maternity leave to open the show, while 90s supermodel Christy Turlington closed it. A lavish 72-ft grazing table, designed by celebrity wedding designer Devika Narain featured free-flowing caviar, oysters, cakes, and Dom Pérignon.
On the ramp, viewers were treated to pieces that seemed nothing like the Sabyasachi lehengas and saris we have become used to seeing: the signature vermillion red, floral organzas, clash of boho-inspired block prints on silk, Benarsi brocade weaves. Instead, he launched more than 150 ultra-luxe, contemporary looks featuring artisanal details like handwoven Mongolian cashmere, Peruvian alpaca, trompe-l'œil embroidery made to resemble tweed, madras checks, and couture coats embellished with beaten Brazilian sequins. This was a significant extension of the language of his couture-pret collections that he first introduced when he launched his New York store in 2022. The setting, inspired by the baris (neighbourhoods) of old Kolkata, paid homage to the designer’s humble beginnings. However, there is nothing humble about the empire Sabyasachi has built.
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“Twenty-five years ago, a young designer from Kolkata sent us a collection of plain matka silk kurta-pyjama sets paired with Kutchi embroidery bags. Maybe it was the fresh, unexpected combination of textiles or the ornate appeal, but every single piece flew off the racks in 30 minutes,” recalls Sangita Kathiwada, founder of the sustainable boutique Melange in Altamount Road, Mumbai.
Kathiwada commissioned a second collection with a caveat—it had to be made exclusively with handspun, handwoven fabrics and feature only artisanal hand embroidery, with no plastic packaging. Sabyasachi aced the assignment. Even in his early days, he was focused on leveraging India’s abundant, indigenous resources: its weaves, surface texturing, and intricate hand craftsmanship. “If that means my market will only be India, so be it,” he declared to Kathiwada in their early meetings.
The India of the 2000s was vastly different from the country that had attained independence barely 50 years before. The first decade of the millennium was also starkly different from the previous decade.“In recent years, there has been a striking change in the profile of Delhi. The city has become more cosmopolitan. Gurgaon and Noida are no longer distant suburbs, they are now hubs of global commercial activity,” a report from February 1, 2004 of the Hindustan Times read. By the end of 2003, there were far more IT engineers in Bengaluru than there were in Silicon Valley. The once-sleepy cantonment town dubbed India’s Silicon Valley was the headquarters of Indian Big Tech — Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies — and attracted much of the work outsourced from the West. American thought leaders like Thomas Friedman and Jeffery Sachs heralded India’s entry into “global economic prominence”.
Not only was the middle class expanding, it also had more buying power.
“At a time when western silhouettes and derivative design were considered fashionable, Sabyasachi brought intellect and a culturally rooted narrative of pride in Indian silhouettes, crafts and ideas to the Indian fashion circuit,” recalls Shefalee Vasudev, author of Powder Room: The Untold Story of Indian Fashion. "His use of spectacles on models, references from Rabindranath Tagore, books on the runway, tea-stained fabrics, bridal lehengas made from Khadi and other handwoven fabrics, gave him an intellectual edge over his contemporaries.”.
Collections like Kashgaar Bazaar (2002), with which Sabyasachi made his debut at India Fashion Week, used traditional Indian techniques on contemporary silhouettes, Two years later, Frog Princess got him floor space next to Dries Van Noten at Browns in London. He launched collaborations with global giants Pottery Barn (a home decor collection in 2016), H&M (2021) and even Starbucks (drinkware collection in 2022). His presence in retail meccas like Saks and Bergdorf Goodman (where projections and rumours of him outselling Chanel, and doing sales worth more than $1million a day did the rounds) cemented his global influence.
Sabya learnt the value of saying no.
“We don’t take cash payments, we don’t customise, and we don’t pander to the rich. We have stood our ground, and built our brand by saying no,” he said confidently. The brand has famously refused custom gown requests from celebrities for international events. “You’ll get a saree from us, and that’s that.”
In 2018, in advertisements for his make-up collaboration with L’oreal Paris, he ensured Aishwarya Rai Bachan wore one in front of the Eiffel Tower. His H&M collaboration included one too, and Alia Bhat’s saree designed by him garnered the highest EMV (electronic media value) by any celeb at the MET gala in 2024.
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Today, his 26,000 sq. ft. flagship store in Mumbai houses over 100 chandeliers, 275 carpets, 3,000 books, and 150 works of art. His New York store boasts similar grandeur, becoming a hub for NRIs and artisanal fashion enthusiasts. He’s opened an accessories-only store in Hyderabad (to be followed by Bengaluru), and he has been quietly working with celebrated French nose Nathalie Lorson to develop his own line of perfumes, which is currently at the bottling stage. With state-of-the-art stores, a loyal clientele that includes heads of state and royalty, a thriving accessories business, and a disruptive jewelry takeover, he has become the blueprint for many—though few can replicate his success.
This is not for the want of trying.
It was only to be expected that Sabya’s unprecedented popularity increased his cache in the domestic market. And the designer unerringly hit upon his target audience — the Indian bride — at a time when the wedding industry was burgeoning. In 2007, he launched Chand Bibi, his first bridal couture collection. The Sabya bride wore micro bindis and aviators, favoured heritage colours and plunging sleeveless blouses. “Within the traditional imagination, he recrafted the look of the Indian bride,” Vasudev said.
“Sabyasachi’s influence on bridal pricing has been significant. He positioned bridal couture as an investment — not just an outfit for a day, but as a legacy piece to be passed down through generations.” shares Aashni Shah, founder of Aashni + Co, the multi-designer store which retails Sabyasachi’s bridalwear.
“Twenty years ago, less than 1% of the affluent and super-affluent had destination weddings. Today, over 10% opt for them, growing the industry tenfold,” says Parthip Thyagarajan, CEO of WeddingSutra.com.
While the wedding industry has matured, Sabyasachi’s unmistakable bridal aesthetic has set him apart. Two decades ago, affluent families spent under ₹50 lakh on weddings. Today, they invest anywhere between ₹1 to ₹5 crore on hometown or destination weddings, excluding clothes, jewellery, and gifts. For the top 1%, spending ₹5-10 lakh on the bride’s lehenga is hardly a splurge according to Thyagarajan.
But Sabya’s lehenga reached beyond the elite customer to grab the middle-class bride’s attention. A copycat market burgeoned — first copy, and second copy options began to flood the market.
“Sabya’s relationship with the copycat market is one of bristle, discomfort, some acceptance including strategic moves towards copyright protection of his patterns and designs,” Vasudev said.
“You see more people feel good in a Sabya than look good in a Sabya,” the designer jokes good-naturedly.
