To celebrate his collaboration with American luxury brand Bergdorf Goodman, Kolkata-based fashion and jewelry designer Sabyasachi sat down with Bergdorf's Fashion Director Linda Fargo for a virtual conversation that BG New Yok shared on Instagram.
“I am personally excited about the fact that we are going to be showing Indian clothing at Bergdorf Goodman for the first time. It’s wonderful to see this kind of inclusivity because you haven’t just invited a designer, you’ve invited an entire country. After this, a lot of Indian designers will probably dream of going to the West while keeping their Indian roots alive," Sabyasachi tells Fargo.
The designer's upcoming jewellery lineup in collaboration with Bergdorf Goodman New York pays an homage to two of the most culturally and historically relevant streets of Kolkata, namely Chowringhee and the Sudder Street.
"If there is one street that sums up the City of Joy, it is perhaps the Sudder Street - full of dilapidated buildings, bohemian hotels, global cafes, touts and sex workers and a cornucopia of vintage thrift stores, antique shops and tea stalls jostling for space. As a young fashion student, Sabyasachi used to sit at the Blue Sky Cafe in Sudder Street to sketch foreign tourists and hippies travelling to India in search of Nirvana. The energy was colourful and cultural, there were no boundaries and it was inclusive diversity at its throbbing best. This handcrafted jewellery collection reflects all of this and more. Uncut diamonds, emeralds, rubies, spinels, tourmalines, jade, turquoise, crystal, coral, moonstone, cat’s eye, sapphires, agates, peridots, fluorites, amethyst, garnets all mash up with global motifs, etchings, enamelling and embossing to create modern cultural heirlooms,” Sabyasachi wrote on Instagram.
Mukherjee's collaboration with Bergdorf helps him garner a steady international buyer base since the designer reportedly plans on opening up a flagship store in the USA later this year. Sabyasachi's epynomous label has also sold 51% stake to Mumbai-based retailer Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) for an undisclosed amount.