It’s five years since Sabyasachi shook fashion world with ‘Frog Princess’ at the Lakme Fashion Week. Models eating chocolate and bread or rubbing their noses, sporting dirty matted hair, with orange lipstick and rouge smeared without remorse featured in a show that was as remarkable for the accompanying drama as the clever combining of traditional weaves, earth tones and modern silhouettes. The lost-girl look worked well to convey the designer’s leaning towards well-stitched garments that do not require much decoration.
Now, with his bridal collection at Bridal Asia, which showcased on Thursday, Sabyasachi once again questioned the definition of the traditional — this time, bridal wear. No Christmas tree baubles, sequins, red-gold-fuchsia, Swarovski or an overdose of embroidery for him. Instead, he took printed chiffon saris, which one would prefer for a more casual outing, and fashioned them along the lines of old-world royalty — chiefly Mughal and Awadhi — and paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. Embellishments ranged from Mughal aari work, Lucknowi tepchi, patola work from Gujarat and Parsi gara work. Black, not a colour associated with weddings, figured prominently on saris, kurtas, lehengas, kalidar kurtas and angarakhas in fabrics like chiffon, velvet, georgette, silk, brocade, khadi, and gauze.
Question him and he retorts, “I wanted to do a collection that was easy, young and pretty. Who says a bride needs to wear so much bling! I want the bride to look refreshing, have a personality. A dignified bride who doesn’t have to stand on a roof and scream ‘It’s my wedding day!’”
Sabyasachi entered film fashion with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji-starrer Black in 2005. At present, he’s busy with three simultaneous projects — Bhansali’s Ash-Hrithik starrer Guzaarish, Mani Ratnam’s Raavan and Balki’s Pa.
Pa, especially, is something Sabyasachi looks forward to, considering he’s responsible for Vidya Balan’s look in the film.
“I’m really excited. Vidya has lately drawn so much flak for her dress sense. You should see her in this film. She looks beautiful!”
With his collection for Bombay Dyeing, Sabyasachi had also dabbled in bed and bath linen.
Now, after retailing in leading boutiques across the country, he is all set to open exclusive Sabyasachi stores in Kolkata and Delhi. Besides clothes, the stores are also scheduled to stock footwear, handbags and furniture.
“Furniture might take some more time, but the rest should be in,” he says. While the Kolkata store will launch mid-October, November should see the Delhi one open.
Mention Frog Princess and Sabyasachi recalls, “There’s a little bit of a filmmaker inside me. That was a time I was reading poetry, listening to a lot of violin… It just happened.”
