On Tuesday evening, designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee announced that pictures from his latest collection, 'An Endless Summer' will be shared exclusively on Instagram the next day at 8pm. And boy, they were. If all that buzz around Sabyasachi's designs after Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli's wedding wasn't enough, his new collection (one of his captions does suggest that Anushka's wedding look served as some inspiration), has got brides and just about everyone else setting their hearts on at least once piece.
With bright fluorescent colours, floral patterns and gorgeous one-tone lehengas, Sabyasachi has made sure that the summer bride will not be disappointed. He seems to have kept in mind summer destination weddings and made sure to keep the clothes lighter, as he explained in his Instagram caption. As far as the fabrics are concerned, Sabyasachi seems to have used a lot of organza, chiffon, khadi, cotton as well as raw silk in his latest collection.
"Destination weddings are quite shaping the future of bridal wear. Taking cues from our heritage, and marrying them to contemporary needs, we at Sabyasachi are constantly redefining Indian bridal wear. 'An Endless Summer' is almost a ready-to-wear take on bridal couture. Effortless chic being the buzzword, the clothes are lighter, brighter, measured and sophisticated. Post Anushka's wedding, the new beauty trend is 'au naturel'. Colour gets out of make-up completely and dives into clothes. An imperceptible flush on the cheek, glossy and glassy lips, mirrored sunnies, open hair and statement jewellery create the new look. Wear colour with confidence and mash it up with panache.' said Sabyasachi.
While Sabyasachi's mixing and matching of floral prints and colours has been very well received (as one can judge from all the comments on his Instagram pictures), people also seem to have loved the one-toned lehengas with hand printed chiffon dupattas from this collection.
He also included embroidered silk lehengas with 'tilla' work detail with heritage Banarasi dupattas, for those looking for more traditional options.
"Hand-printed florals are almost a tradition at Sabyasachi." Sabyasachi said explaining the motivation behind the heavily floral range which also features entirely floral lehengas and sarees. "Painstakingly hand-painted by 43 artists at The Sabyasachi Art Foundation, they are remastered on diaphanous organza sarees for the Spring-Summer 2018 collection. Eclectic and contrasting blouses, statement teekas and necklaces, nude make-up and open hair create a hip and cool look for destination summer weddings." he continued.
We love that so much around him inspires Sabyasachi's collections, and that he takes the time and puts in the effort to explain the inspiration behind each design so eloquently. Further explaining the floral Shikargah sarees from Benaras, he said, "I have an obsession for Shikargah etchings and paintings. And I have an even bigger obsession for Shikargah sarees from Benaras. For the uninitiated, the word 'Shikargah' is of Persian origin and depicts a game preserve. Regional flora and fauna and royal hunting scenes are either vividly or abstractly depicted. In our effort to preserve silk screen printing in West Bengal, we created these 29 colour Shikargah prints for our organza sarees. Each saree takes over 9 hours for 2 printers to finish and in today's time the complication of production easily elevates it to modern couture. Our models are styled with beautiful old world blouses, heritage South Indian jewellery studded with Burmese rubies (from the Sabyasachi Heritage Jewelry Collection) and retro sunglasses for added quirk."
He also included a range of khadi garments in this collection. Ideal for a warm, summer time wedding. Here's what he had to say about that - "A definite trend for Spring-Summer 2018 is rustic baroque. Humble fabrics like khadi co-existing with sumptuous silks and brocades, prints marrying embroidery, sophisticated florals aligning with peasant stripes. Our khadi saree and anarkali helps you navigate destination weddings with this contradicting essence of neo-luxury."
"This trend extends to our jewellery as well. Big precious uncut diamonds and tourmalines are threaded together with corals and turquoise beads to create spectacular neck-pieces and teekas that merge serious intent with a whimsical spirit."
For those who are not into bright and bold colours, Sabyasachi made sure to include a range of ivory and gold outfits. Traditional and simple, they would make the perfect choice for summer wedding anywhere.
Sabyasachi has also included a range of 'cheent' or printed cotton garments, which he claims to be obsessed with.
"The heartland of India wears 'cheent'. In other words, printed cotton. As I travel down gypsy trails in pursuit of 'banjaras', meander through the 'gullies' of Benaras or simply take a tram-car ride across central Calcutta, I find cheent everywhere. Amongst gypsies and prostitutes, the common man on the road, the young and the old. It peeps out as box pleated petticoats under humble sarees, decorates the walls of decadent homes, makes an appearance on a battered umbrella, canvas slippers, lamp shades, 'mem-saheb' dresses, badly stitched bags or sometimes even as faded café curtains blocking the view of a voyeuristic eye." he explained in his caption for the 'cheent' range.
We also loved the garments that were inspired by Sabyasachi's visit to the 'Gemini Circus'. With all their colourful hues and bright fluorescent colours, how could we not.
As he did with each of the other ranges, Sabyasachi also explained this one.
"I was eleven years old when I went to see the Gemini Circus. The trapeze artists, the tigers, the galloping horses and even the clown is just a blur in my memory. But I can still smell the turmeric popcorn and I distinctly remember the marquee. It was massive, sprawling across the entire maidan in striped canvas. Red and green. Colourful festoons and fairy lights in every shade of bright, danced and glittered under an evening sky. The thought never left me and I knew one day, it would surface up as an inspiration for one of my collections."
We knew no one did traditional as well as Sabyasachi, but talk about mixing and matching prints and colours. When it comes to design and aesthetic, this new collection proves that there are few like Sabyasachi.
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