At Sabyasachi’s 25th Anniversary Show, Nostalgia and Glam Took Center Stage

Here’s your front-row ticket to the designer’s most enchanting homecoming yet.

The buzz is electric, the air heavy with anticipation. The clinking of champagne glasses hushes, and 600 eager guests abandon their plates of decadent cake and charcuterie by a lavish grazing table. All eyes shift to the stage—except, this isn’t just a stage; it’s an immersive slice of vintage Calcutta.

Imagine walking into a scene plucked straight out of old North Kolkata. Two moss-covered houses, their charm deliciously dilapidated, are connected by clotheslines bearing crumpled sarees that look freshly hand-washed—possibly by someone’s dadu. Beyond their colonial pillars lies the pièce de résistance: a grand fountain à la Victoria Memorial, with a Sabyasachi twist—its regal lions swapped for tigers.

In the background, a haunting rendition of Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Jokhon Porbe Na Mor Payer Chinho’ (When my footsteps will no longer mark this path) echoes through the air, setting the tone for an evening that feels bittersweet yet celebratory.

The runway tells a love story—of contrasts, craftsmanship, and home. Khorkhori windows, a distinct shade of British green, frame balconies adorned with flick-switch boards from a bygone era. A lone printed saree flutters on a railing, a nostalgic nod to Sabyasachi’s early collections. Then, the music shifts to a mashup of Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Leonard Cohen, and Usha Uthup—a soundtrack as layered as the collection itself.

When Deepika Padukone struts through this dreamscape, followed by a squad of models from around the globe, it’s clear: this isn’t just a fashion show—it’s a cultural moment. Sabyasachi’s 150-piece collection is a poetic dialogue between Calcutta’s bygone charm and today’s unapologetic exuberance. Think Frida Kahlo-inspired headbands, Madonna-esque crucifixes, and sarees that could belong to Chowringhee Lane’s most glamorous aunties.

The collection plays with every imaginable texture and detail: zardozi-embellished bombers, pashmina paired with Japanese cotton, and sequined mini skirts reinvented with an Indian twist. There’s velvet on t-shirts, faux fur midi skirts, and hair accessories so elaborate they deserve their own Instagram account.

As models glide across the runway, they’re dripping in the house’s fine jewelry—necklaces layered like armor, chunky ear studs, and bracelets in every shade of the candy store. Supermodel Christy Turlington, in a monochrome cashmere ensemble and enough jewels to make a maharani jealous, closes the show.

Sabyasachi’s welcome notes, placed lovingly on every guest’s seat, sum it all up: “My grandmothers taught me everything I know. One believed in the power of minimalism; the other reveled in maximalism.” This duality is evident everywhere, from the collection’s earthy neutrals to its riot of color.

What we saw wasn’t just another collection—it was a love letter to Calcutta. To its imperfections, its romance, its resilience. To a city that lives in the designer’s DNA. Sure, this is Sabyasachi 2.0—global, glamorous, experimental—but, at its core, it’s a homecoming.

Mukherjee has always been a storyteller, and this chapter is perhaps his most magical yet: where nostalgia meets innovation, and where fashion feels like a celebration of everything we hold dear.