Sabyasachi - Delhi Couture Week

Me in a pink and green Sabyasachi

A few days ago a friend of mine happened to have passes to the Sabyasachi show at Delhi couture week and was kind enough to take me along with him. I don’t often get invites to see the shows, so when I do, I of course jump at the opportunity. And this was Sabyasachi one of my favourite Indian designers so I bailed on the initial dinner plans I had with my friends. I wore one of his lovely creations for my engagement, and my sister wore one of his couture outfits for my wedding and my mom and I are perpetually on the hunt for another Sabyasachi.

My sister in a maroon and gold Sabyasachi Couture

As expected, the venue was filled with the usual Delhi socialites and their respective husbands, some wannabes, some fabulously dressed people and of course the very cool Bandana Tewari. There were a lot of people actually dressed in his outfits which I think is always fantastic to see. I especially saw a lot of women wearing his headbands, and I think I should buy one too simply because they’re just adorable; black with gold embroidery on them.

The buzz before the show was about the set which apparently had some crazy number of plants, so I couldn’t wait to get in and check it out. Once inside, the set was truly adorable. It was a very rustic setting, with plants all along the runway, and a little corner with some props, my favourite being an ancient piano.

Then the music started; Bibo No Aozora followed by Exit Music For a Film and at some point a track by The Cinematic Orchestra (track name is Arrival Of The Birds And Transformation in case anyone in interested)  and it was almost as if I was sitting at a Royal court somewhere in Europe; i.e. it was beautiful. Along came the models and my eyes were glued; everything else around me was non-existent.

I was expecting something completely different from the collection, you know the signature Sabyasachi; the greens, reds, etc. Not this time around. This time it was a collection fit for royalty in every possible way. I had never seen so much gold in his collections ever, but he did with so much class. None of the gold looked over the top or blingy, it just looked so elegant. I loved the color palette of beige, blush and light blue. I can’t delve into detail about the craftsmanship as I don’t have much information on it, but I can say one thing, none of it looked easy. A little birdie told me the collection was a result of hours and hours of intricate work by master craftsmen on every garment which is evident once you see the clothes. One of my favourite looks was a blush/coral embellished kurta paired with a simple checked churidar and another favourute was a pale colored lehenga with blue floral embroidery on it. The saris and lehengas were on another level and I wish I could get a closer look to inspect the work and report back to you guys!

I see a lot of shows online to stay in touch with what’s happening around me in the industry, and whilst a lot of them are good, once in a while you end up seeing a collection where your jaw drops and after the collection you just want to jump up and clap. In my opinion this was one of those collections.