Sabyasachi's bridal shop has a sense of humor
To the delight of all Mumbai brides, couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee recently set up shop in the Kala Ghoda neighborhood, more than a decade after the Bengali began stitching vintage Indian styles under the Sabyasachi brand. And the new Mumbai boutique he's designed and decorated mirrors his fashion's fascination with a bygone era.
It's like walking into an ante chamber of a royal residence, relaxed, understated luxury.
A kaleidoscope of Indo-kitsch awaits, a maze of little rooms each beckoning you to linger over the curios amassed from travels within India and across Europe. Adorning walls that look intentionally unfinished are vintage photographs and old books, sourced from friends and family, as well as old clocks and ceramic plates found in Chor Bazaar.
A magnificent hand-blown pink chandelier takes pride of place in front of an old wooden desk which serves as the cash register.
"I wanted to create the feeling of an old decadent house which is falling apart," explains Sabyasachi. "There's a strong sense of romanticism, an old world quality and charm to it. Vintage has always inspired me."
Curating the couture experience
Not surprising then, the choice of location for Sabya's first Mumbai store.
The creative tour de force says he loves the Kala Ghoda district. He's not alone. Almost every luxury designer brand dreams of setting up shop in this locality. The rambling by-lanes and the heritage buildings that populate them have become an increasing rarity in a megalopolis full of high rises and new construction. Home to some great art galleries, everyone's favorite music shop, Rhythm House, the adorable Kala Ghoda Cafe and an annual cultural festival, Kala Ghoda is one of Mumbai's most eclectic and artsy neighborhoods.
The boutique is housed in a heritage structure, in a quiet walkaway, opposite one of the city's most beloved landmarks, the bright blue Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue, and adjacent to what was once another multi-brand fashion boutique, Muse, whose window shutters are now closed for business, the building awaiting its new avatar.
Sabyasachi said it took him just a day and a half to conceptualize the store but three to four months to assemble it all together.
"Fashion stores can have a dominatrix nature to them -- they can be aggressive and intimidating. Instead, we had a sense of humor in approaching the design," the designer says. "For example, none of the clocks in the store work. So there's a sense that time is frozen, which is the essence of timelessness I wanted to capture.
"We didn't want to use expensive materials. We used simple metal sheets to skirt the store because I wanted to make a mockery of the way we love expensive materials. There's no marble in the store. The windows have no clothes. You only see the clothes after walking through the whole store, right at the end. The entire effect is enigmatic and mysterious."
We're told most peoples' first reaction on entering the space is to wonder if they've reached the right destination. The old-world nature of the store has also increased foot fall from people who wouldn't necessarily be traditional Sabya clients, something he's very pleased with.
"I want a more eclectic client base. We don't inhibit people from coming to the store. I have told my sales staff to encourage people to linger and just experience the space," he says.
Highly influenced by a scene from the film Pretty Woman, where a trampy looking Julia Roberts walks into a fancy Rodeo Drive store and is treated with disdain, Sabya said he never wanted anyone to feel that way in his stores. He strove to capture the ethos of his Kolkatta boutique, which has a cafe and is a much-loved local watering hole.
"I want a public space for people to enjoy themselves. Buying clothes is an added bonus."
Both men and women's wear can be found here. Everything from the requisite bridal lehengas and sherwanis to his trademark extreme yardage anaarkalis to shoes and jewelry are on display.
Two days, 100 women
Sabyasachi frequents Mumbai more often now, about once a month, taking appointments over two days that need to be booked at least a week to 10 days in advance. During the busy festive and bridal months, it's not uncommon to find close to a hundred women who want to meet him.
Right now, the store is back ordered about three months for bridal wear, although the ever-pushy and ever-hopefuls try to squeeze in.
In keeping with the cerebral designer's reputation, the store's ethnic chic interiors work for loftier goals than just attracting the city's moneyed brides.
"I have a very strong agenda. I want to set up an environment for peoples' attitudes to change. I make the Indian sensibility aspirational for people. So that even the most critical people start accepting Indian clothes. I want to make handlooms more exciting. I have stopped flirting with fashion. I want more evolved people to buy my clothes and I want there to be a timelessness to my creations."
To facilitate that, Sabya launched the Save The Saree initiative, selling woven handlooms in simple yet attractive tubular tins and forwarding the proceeds straight to the weavers to sustain their livelihoods. And that way, if the exquisite three lakh Rupee lehenga is out of reach, you can still claim to own a coveted Sabya piece.
52, V.B. Gandhi Marg, Kala Ghoda; tel. +91 (0) 22 2262 3335. Open 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Monday to Saturday; www.sabyasachi.com
