Sabyasachi Mukherjee opens Amazon India Couture Week in New Delhi today with a remarkable milestone: he is the first Indian designer to collaborate with shoe tsar Christian Louboutin. His new collection, Bater by Sabyasachi Couture, will see Parisian footwear complement Indian baroque designs.
The collaboration with Louboutin is a “wish fulfilment”, says the Kolkata designer. “When I met him I realised what a lovely person he is. The collaboration is the result of great creative chemistry.
“The shoes from my collection are normally bold and chunky,” he explains. “This time, for womenswear, the focus is stilettos, and who better than Christian Louboutin? What I appreciate the most about his shoes is that in spite of the high glamour, the brand manages to keep alive a sense of quirkiness, and that resonates well with our brand philosophy.”
Grand and strong, Mukherjee’s show tonight – featuring bridal couture, shoes, handbags and oversized coats – will be held against a backdrop of an abandoned, crumbling mansion, a theme echoed in motifs referencing India’s royal hunts. The music has been composed by a local orchestra sponsored by the Sabyasachi Art Foundation.
“The words playing in my mind while designing Bater were: dark, dangerous, predatory. It’s all reminiscent of game birds and birds of prey,” says the 41-year-old designer. “The show is almost primitive in its appeal. Some people may find it shocking but if you look deep into it, you will find all the elements of our signature and DNA.”
The sombre and dark colour palettes include black, gunmetal, sand, distressed ivory and oxblood. The collection is predominantly in tulle, with some fabrics textured to look like hide.
For 15 years, Mukherjee has consistently celebrated the female form. Whether crop tops or wedding apparel, the “clothes are out of the usual parameters of the brand – from embellishments to silhouettes, colour or just the body-con quotient”, all catering to any kind of occasion.
“In India, couture is still consumed largely in the bridal market,” says the designer. “But this consumption now stretches beyond the realms of traditional Indian designs and clothing.”
Mukherjee has a strong Bollywood following, and has dressed A-list stars including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sridevi, Rani Mukerji, Vidya Balan and Sonam Kapoor. His allure lies in his ability to merge edginess with indigenous craft, and his rise to the top of the fashion ladder is powered by this willingness to embrace old traditions.
“And Bater takes this one step forward,” says the designer, adding that he “truly believes in keeping the tradition of handicraft alive, by ensuring we can create sustainable employment so that the next generation of craftspeople think it’s viable to stay with the craft”.
“Handiwork and handicraft play a very significant role in this collection. Though the silhouettes and the looks are very modern and contemporary, the techniques are old. We’re happy that this will keep the craft ecosystem in Bengal alive for a very long time.”
Amazon India Couture Week runs from today until August 2 at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi
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