Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Ode to Sabyasachi Mukherjee

“Being a designer is not easy. It is a very shallow world! If you are a big brand, you pump in stars in your show, splurge money on the ambience and the show is a hit. But you won’t be able to sleep properly at night because you know you have not done justice to your work,” says Sabyasachi Mukherjee.






His mission is to reconnect the people of India with the rich textiles of India, a feat that he would like to make his legacy. "I never knew I wanted to be a fashion designer. I liked sketching. Then I saw an interview of Rohit Khosla on TV. After that I climbed a wall with my friends and gatecrashed Rohit Khosla's fashion show in Saturday Club (Kolkatta) in 1992. There I decided I wanted women to wear pretty clothes and walk up and down that stage." 

" If you need to become iconic and do something of consequence, it is important to start closer from home. To me, its not about making a few frocks and selling it to a few white - skinned people with whom you have no interaction. To see people in your country wear the clothes - in my case, its more of the copies you see than the originals - is more satisfying." 












“I always go through a post-show depression. Because after every successful collection showcase I get the feeling that with my next line I will have to prove myself all over again.”

“It’s important for a designer not to get trapped with a particular image.Reinvention is the name of the game.”













On using Bollywood stars as show stoppers, he said: “Stars must sit among the audiences and not walk the ramp. Fashion week is all about clothes. Celebrity presence shifts the focus completely from clothes to them.”

He has been Kolkatta's hero. From bringing Kolkatta, Mumbai and Delhi in the very structures of his creations Sabya has influenced as well as been greatly influenced by them all. 



On Fashion he says :


‘The knowledge that international media and fashionistas have about India is very limited; so it is of prime importance that we focus on our textiles, techniques and fabrics and educate the world about how rich the handloom industry in India is,’ 



“I don’t believe in fashion any more. There is no need for two editions of fashion week internationally. Think about the poor customer, even before he updates his wardrobe, the next line is offered to him,"
“For consumers, it is almost like being in school where one is constantly told to sit down and stand up. We are trying to build a brand on others’ insecurities (about not being in sync with the latest trends),” Sabyasachi explained.









"I've identified the woman for Sabyasachi. I see her as someone who probably carries one handbag all her life. My woman understands what looks good on her and she sticks to it, rather than give in to the pressure of trying something new every season."


" People come to me knowing that " if I get a Sabya, i can wear it for the rest of my life, and not worry about throwing it out in six months." I like women to know, " Here is a guy who didn't gyp us out of our money, a guy who gave us something even our great - grandchildren can value."








"Now there's a big overdose of technology in everything. What people are missing is a little rusticity of the things from the non-tech world. For my company, i have a very simple rule: if a machine can do the work of five people, let's kill the machine and hire five people."


I like textiles to have a little character and age. I am influenced by this poem: "What is this life if full of care/ We have no time to stand and stare." My clothing wants you to reflect - know what the past of India was, what the textile is, where it came from, how it was manufactured...














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