MUMBAI — Indian fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee marked his 25th anniversary on Saturday evening with a major runway show that sought to position his label as “India’s first global luxury brand.”
The outing — which opened with Bollywood star Deepika Padukone and closed with 90s supermodel Christy Turlington, and drew fashion industry insiders from Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo to stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, as well as Indian tycoon Kumar Mangalam Birla, Kokilaben Ambani and actors Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Alia Bhatt and Ananya Panday — came as the purveyor of demi-couture, high jewellery and luxury handbags pushed ahead with global expansion.
In recent years, the brand has opened a 5,800-square-foot boutique in New York (adding to a store network spanning Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata), and has cemented retail partnerships with Bergdorf Goodman, Printemps Doha and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Saturday’s show, a tribute to Mukherjee’s native Calcutta (now Kolkata), featured over 150 looks — all of them made in the West Bengali capital with some fabrics and other elements sourced globally from ateliers in Peru, Mongolia, Brazil, Scotland, Italy, France and Turkey.
While true to Mukherjee’s signature bohemian maximalist sensibility, the collection focused on western silhouettes, with only a small edit of traditional saris and lehengas: a clear signal that the brand — long a household name in India for its bridalwear — is ramping up its international ambitions.
“It saddened me that given India’s incredible heritage and culture we have not produced a single global design or luxury brand,” Mukherjee told BoF in 2023. “India has been the backyard of fashion for too long, it’s time for it to lead from the front now.”
Mukherjee, who is known for decadent, immersive retail spaces filled with precious collectibles, designed a show set inspired by the streets of North Calcutta, adjoined by a cocktail space swathed in chintz fabrics, Chinoiserie, potted plants, leather trunks, Qajar paintings and feline figurines.
“We firmly believe India is not a third-world economy but a first-world civilization. It is the birthplace of luxury.” Mukherjee’s show notes read. “Together, we will create India’s first global luxury brand.”
In 2021, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) acquired a 51 percent stake in Sabyasachi in a deal that valued the business at around $90 million. Mukherjee recently teased an upcoming beauty and fragrances push, and the brand is set to generate 500 crore rupees ($57.9 million) this year, the designer told Indian news magazine The Week earlier this month.
Sabyasachi Mukherjee 25th anniversary