Sabyasachi’s World – A Carnival of the Senses in New York

Calcutta Dreams – The Power of Imagination

The designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee is a little like the Taj Mahal – everyone wants to have their picture taken with him! By the end of the week, he must have posed for countless photos with people who all wanted a selfie with him!

For years the name of this iconic designer has resonated with brides across India and the Diaspora and also with women and men who love his singular take on arts and beauty. While you can’t take the Taj Mahal home, you can take bits and pieces of Sabyasachi through his apparel line, through his jewelry and his special creative take on aesthetics. The good news for Sabya fans is that they don’t have to wait to trek to India to get his creations – he is now in New York with a gorgeous new store on Christopher Street

Always immersed in the past, Sabyasachi’s store is embedded in the Romanesque Revival architecture of The Archive Building which is listed in the National Register of Landmarked Buildings in New York. Walk into this space and you are transported into another world – a small museum, a mansion or an intimate palace, filled with rare mirrors, chandeliers, and artifacts and furniture. The walls are studded with art made by the Sabyasachi Art Foundation  as well as vintage photography and lithographs. It is a deep dive into the rich textile and crafts heritage of India, all seen through the eye of the designer and his prism of ‘slow luxury’.

The sprawling space is 5,800 square foot with 16’ ceiling heights and this is retailing’s new wonderland. The opening night had bold face names and celebrities and over the week there were several champagne previews where New Yorkers got to explore the Sabyasachi aesthetic.  Sabyasachi himself moved around his guests, always smiling, always unassuming, and always happy to share his passion which is bringing the unparalleled beauty of India to the larger world.

It really is a case of the Home and the World, where Sabyasachi has brought the unique charm of Calcutta to the big world.

“I have spent the last two decades creating a brand rooted in heritage, craftsmanship and a point of view that is authentically Indian. It’s time for me to share this with the world,” says the designer.

It was nice to walk the rooms sipping champagne and seeing the guests wide-eyed, almost like kids in a candy store, getting their measurements taken for an outfit or actually trying on some of the stunning pieces of jewelry.

Indeed, there were so many delights right from the floor to the ramparts  and so much beauty in every room, you don’t know where to look.  It is really a carnival of the senses – the experience of visiting the store is a little like Alice through the Looking Glass. You enter into different worlds and then you go down the rabbit hole, distracted by different items of beauty, each pulling for your attention.

The love affair with Sabyasachi is an ongoing one. Shoppers and window-shoppers are planning a trip to the new showroom almost as if it’s a pilgrimage or a tourism spot. Everybody wants to check it out. There is so much excitement about the store that some visitors were even raving about the stunning bathrooms – so it becomes almost mandatory to take a look!

So shoppers and lovers of the arts, take a stroll through this beautiful space with soft music playing, absorb the intricacies and enjoy the experience of India away from India. The Sabyasachi aesthetic which has been seen in cinema, in weddings and in wardrobes, is now here for New Yorkers to taste and enjoy.  And if you’re lucky, you may also brush shoulders with Sabyasachi the designer too as he plans to come into New York often.