Deepika Padukone and Christy Turlington star in landmark Sabyasachi fashion show

Camera phones at the ready, around 700 guests hailing from across India and the world expected a visual spectacle on Saturday evening — and they weren’t disappointed. A hush descended as the doors opened to the Jio World Center in Mumbai, where legendary Indian fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee presented a star-studded 25th anniversary runway show for his namesake brand.

The celebrated designer — known for his maximalist Indian style — has dressed some of the biggest names across Bollywood and Hollywood, including Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Oprah Winfrey, Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez. For his landmark show, the stars showed up to lend their support: Padukone opened proceedings in an all-white ensemble adorned with necklaces, including a crucifix from Mukherjee’s jewelry line. She later walked again with supermodel Christy Turlington as part of the grand finale.

Over 150 looks were presented, including pants and skirts embroidered with gold threads, frilled head gear, stacked jewelry and tops with slogans such as “cat lady,” “table for one,” “where has love gone,” and “all dressed up nowhere to go.” Mukherjee explained in a phone interview that these pieces were intended to be satire on how technology is dehumanizing humans. “We seem to have forgotten how to establish human relationships,” he said.

There were also trench coats, sweaters, shorts and shirts made in more conventionally western silhouettes. These marked a departure from Mukherjee’s usual festive and bridal wear, which are heavily inclined towards traditional Indian styles, such as saris, ghagra cholis and sherwanis.

But with no shortage of drama, the new collection featured heavily embroidered jackets embellished with semi-precious stones, brocade dresses, ostrich leather jackets and skirts, and blouses with velvet appliqués overlaid with faux fur.

Kolkata roots

Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Mukherjee is one the most sought-after Indian designers, both domestically and overseas. He has stores in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, and also opened his first international outpost in New York in 2022. Mukherjee continues to recognize his West Bengal roots, transforming his latest runway into one inspired by his home city, which is renowned for its rich history, art and architecture and deep-seated culture of art and literature appreciation.

Dressed in black, as per the dress code, guests including actors Alia Bhatt and Rani Mukherji and industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla admired and filmed the colonial pillars, stained glass windows and blue arched doors of an old, reimagined neighborhood of Kolkata.

Mukherjee told CNN that Kolkata was his “ultimate and silent inspiration along with everyday life.” He described it as “a city of patina, where the grandest buildings lie crumbling to the reality of decay, where stories of the rambunctious red-light area of Sonagachi, the sinewy pimps of Kamathipura (and) the effervescence of marigolds in Mallick Ghat co-exist under the hypnotic and ever-watchful eyes of Goddess Kali.”

The show opened with songs in Mukherjee’s mother tongue Bengali, that were composed, written and sung by famous Bengali musicians including Nobel Prize awardee Rabindranath Tagore. (Tagore was the first non-European writer and poet to win the award for literature in 1913.)

“As a Bengali, I’ve had access to this excellent mixing of hedonism with the sophistication of culture. This is the environment I grew up in. It has shaped my consciousness,” Mukherjee said.

Building ‘India’s first global luxury brand’

Looking to the future, Mukherjee said he plans to expand his company’s presence in the US by partnering with major retail outlets and introducing a line of fragrances and beauty products. He also plans to design more ready-to-wear collections and jewelry, while “adapting heritage practices dynamically to remain relevant for contemporary lifestyles,” according to a brand press release.

“We have pressed reset,” he said, of his ambition to expand beyond the bridal wear that he’s become so famous for. “Most of the crafts we (Indians) consume are because of weddings,” he said. (India’s wedding industry is estimated at about $130 billion.) “But that will soon change forever.”

While people have “used weddings to create dominance by spending money,” said Mukherjee, “now young people (would) rather spend money on experiences.”

Mukherjee, dressed in jeans and a black top with Sabyasachi’s logo featuring a Royal Bengal Tiger, took a closing bow with Padukone and Turlington. A Bengali version of the hymn “We Shall Overcome” played as the crowd gave a standing ovation. Though, this one had different lyrics: “One day the light of the sun, one day the light of our dreams, one day the light of truth shall shine. Deep in our hearts, we hold the belief; the light of the truth will shine.”

It’s a sentiment that perhaps best sums up Mukherjee’s heartfelt approach. “Humanity, after all, is the biggest luxury today,” he said.