In conversation with India's leading couturier, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, on the evolving meaning of luxury

As we entered through the tall wooden doors of Sabyasachi’s new emporium in Mumbai’s Horniman Circle area, we hear Thare Rahiyo, an Indian classical song from the 1972 movie Pakeezah, playing softly in the background. In front of us were two life-size Canton vases, walls adorned with intricate pichvais and paintings created by the Sabyasachi Art Foundation and other artists, beautiful carpets, grand chandeliers, art books, showcases with historical trinkets, and other art and décor pieces thoughtfully placed across three floors. 

Sabyasachi’s new address at the ICP Fort Heritage building is the most phenomenal bridal lehenga store that there is. It’s a living art and history museum, it’s a cosy home you would like to call your own, and it’s every bit grand, opulent, decadent, and as Indian as you would expect a 'Sabya space' to be.

We spoke to India’s most popular, most sought-after designer about creating homely stores that celebrate the rich cultural heritage of India, its art and craft, its people, and his work.

Harper’s Bazaar: The store is housed in a neo-classical building, and the space seems to be a big part of its identity. When did you know this was ‘the location’ and what was the process of converting it into the store that it is today?

Sabyasachi Mukherjee: We wanted to move to a larger store because we are building a lot of categories and our handbag and jewellery businesses are expanding. We wanted to future-proof the business as we plan to keep adding categories; beauty and perfumes to begin with. We wanted an interactive store, large enough to be able to maintain the growth of the brand. This was the first property JLL showed me, and I decided to keep it because it could not get more beautiful than this. I was extremely lucky to be able to have it. Also, much later we realised the place belongs to one of my old friends from Kolkata, so I think it was all meant to be. 

HB: This part of the city—Kala Ghoda and Horniman Circle areas—is peppered with Indian and international luxury labels like Hermes, Christian Louboutin, Anita Dongre, Gaurav Gupta. What about this area resonates with your brand and others here? 

SM: Luxury belongs in heritage locations, not in malls. Kala Ghoda and Horniman Circle areas have many heritage buildings, and the value of these buildings is only going to increase because people will eventually understand their importance. These buildings cannot be replicated.

HB: You are very particular about every aspect of your launch campaigns and the look and feel of the stores. How do you bring the ‘Sabya essence’ to everything you do? 

SM: A brand needs to tell only one story. There has to be consistency across different aspects to create its identity—from what you eat in a brand’s store to how tea and coffee is served, what the bathrooms and changing rooms look like, the kind of music that is played, its packaging, the staff and their uniforms—everything contributes to brand experience. It’s like coming home. Every brand needs to have its representation in everything it does.

People in Kolkata do elaborate tea and coffee services. We grew up as middle-class Bengalis but my mother used to be very particular about tea, and always said that if you can afford it, tea should be served in China and not in porcelain. She had a very expensive tea set that she got as her wedding gift, and I remember she only said one thing, “Just because we are poor, doesn’t mean we should not have standards”. I live by it. Every brand should hold itself up to the standards that it projects.

HB: Your sense of Indian aesthetics and tradition is not just fabrics and motifs, it is also the little things like the use of alta in your campaign. Do you think these little things are an important part of building a perception for the audience? 

SM: A 100 per cent. Like I said, a brand has to have consistency across everything—from the models who represent you, to their hair and the make-up, the location, the music, all of it. Till date, I style and direct my own shoots. I sit with the hair and make-up teams and tell the approach we need to take. It’s simple, when you are paying top money for my mind, then my mind should be at work. 

I think one of the reasons why this brand is loved so much is because it has a very consistent voice. 

HB: Has there been a shift in your approach to design from when you started to today? 

SM: Yes. The world has changed considerably from the time I started. I believe that for culture and fashion to be relevant, they need to be dynamic. The trick is to be able to tweak your brand to suit modern times without losing your brand identity. Basically, keeping the core intact and making peripheral changes to adjust to a new customer base.

HB: Is the definition of luxury changing globally?

SM: Definitely. Luxury is becoming more personal. It is also becoming more about quality and less about marketing. Earlier, anything that could be marketed well was deemed luxury, but now it’s becoming more elusive. The customer can see through the garb of marketing and recognise it is not luxury anymore. For luxury to be able to sustain, it needs to become what true luxury was always about—refinement, craftsmanship, and quality. 

Luxury clothing is how you feel in that clothing rather than how you look in it. For instance, if you see two black coats, one in cashmere and one in cotton, in a photograph, you won’t be able to tell one from the other; only the person wearing it will know the difference. Luxury has moved on to what reaction it evokes in a customer, and not in the people who are watching the customer. 

HB: So, it is no longer in the eye of the beholder…

SM: That’s fashion, that’s not luxury.

HB: Do you think Dior’s recent show in India will prompt a change in the luxury fashion market in India—the way people look at Indian luxury or India as a fashion hub? 

SM: The fact that one of the world’s most powerful brands, Dior, came with a show in India, clearly shows how important the Indian market has become for everybody. The NMACC inauguration grabbed equal attention, but at the end of the day, it was still an Indian business family that organised it. But Dior came on their own, by their will and choice. 

HB: Is this recognition limited to the handicraft industry and skilled craftsmen here? 

SM: Luxury in India is equated to embroidery and handicrafts, and it’s lovely because it is the country's strength. If you can create consumption by exploiting the country’s resources, then you’re also building continuity of community and giving economic development at a grassroot level. I think it’s a win-win. Dior has acknowledged Chanakya (School of Craft). Indian handicrafts were always there in the limelight, but now they are here to stay.

HB: You’ve been associated with Aditya Birla Group for a year, how has the partnership been so far? 

SM: Kumar (Mangalam Birla) is an old friend and has done a lot for development in Kolkata, whether it is in the field of education or infrastructure, and he understands the business. So, when I had to choose a partner, it was a very easy decision. He is a very quiet, non-interfering partner and we have a beautiful, respectful relationship where we bring our individual strengths to the table. 

HB: You’ve tied-up with brands like H&M and Starbucks, and continue to with many others. What can we expect from these collaborations? 

SM: Well, we have a few upcoming collaborations lined up for this year; some of them are with big American brands. You’ll probably hear about it in the next few months. 

HB: When can we expect the launch of your much talked about home brand?

SM: Probably after a year or two. We are planning to enter the home décor space in a big way, and this store will be a mood board for customers to understand what Sabya Home will look and feel like. 

HB: What is your vision for Sabya Home? 

SM: It will look and feel exactly like this store—there will be a lot of curiosity objects, beautiful textiles, old mirrors, chandeliers, rugs, carpets, lights, crockery, cutlery, and beautiful things that can be sourced from all over the world.

HB: Which part of the store is your favourite? 

SM: The tea room. I like that it is in a cosy corner. It’s not hectic because no buying or selling takes place here; this is where people come to have tea. 

HB: Name one piece of décor that makes it a Sabya store? 

SM: There are many—all the paintings created by the Sabyasachi Art Foundation, the pichvais, the 13 ft. tall Canton vases, and a crockery cabinet from Syria among other things. I have either owned these things before or have always intended to buy. The way I approach the décor of a store is exactly the way I’d do up a home. 

HB: What does it take to be a Sabya model? 

SM: A Sabya model has to be relatable and confident about who they are which also helps in making the customer feel good about themselves. There are no physical criteria to being a Sabya model, you just need to be that special person—when I see it, I know it. 

Our plus-size model came to our brand as a customer. When I asked her if she would model for the brand, she thought I was making fun of her because she was fat. I told her, “I don’t consider you fat, I just consider you beautiful.” 

HB: Do you think you’ve created your ultimate, most favourite collection yet? Or is it still in the making? 

SM: The day a designer is satisfied with his collection, it’s the death of the designer. Every time I finish a collection, I tell myself, ‘My God this is so bad, I need to improve it’. It’s a continuous journey. You have to keep going on—that’s tenacity. 

Design is not for the faint-hearted; it’s a relentless job that never ends. You have to motivate yourself to get better. Sometimes we fuss over the lining of a garment, something the customer will never know about, the press will never see. So, just changing the grammage of a piece of cloth for it to look and feel better is also an improvement for us. Some improvements and changes you can see, some you can’t, while some are just for the consumer to feel good about wearing the product. They may not know why they feel good or what changed in the mechanism, but it’s important they feel it. 

Luxury is about changing things without making too much noise. 

 

Transcribed by Nikita Vig