Sabyasachi's Collaboration With H&M Has Sparked Off Carefully Designed Desi Memes

Fashion is a series of hits or misses, and it looks like for the general Indian public, Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s latest collaboration with H&M has been a miss. Sabyasachi, whose label by the same name is known for its gorgeous Indian wear, ranging from lehengas to saris, is synonymous with luxury fashion. With a lot of Indian girls too, there’s a long-running joke - that they wouldn’t get married unless it’s in a Sabyasachi lehenga. This joke is so common, Alia Bhatt‘s character in ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’ makes it very obvious without naming the designer, that she isn’t getting married, unless it’s a Kareena Kapoor inspired “designer lehenga." With all his designs, Sabyasachi has become cult in India - but his fashion is associated only with what the public terms as something over-the-top and luxury, and not everyday wear. His collaboration with H&M, has perhaps been the opposite.

The pret collection with H&M, gives the Sabyasachi label an opportunity to spread its aesthetic to a wider audience in India and worldwide. “I’m often asked why I can’t make my clothes more affordable, but an outreach like pret requires huge investments and logistics costs which I couldn’t delve into. Now I can proudly say I’ve made a special pret line which belongs to H&M and the world, it comes at a great time celebrating 20 years of my label," said Sabyasachi in an interview about his collection.

While attempting to make his clothes affordable for a fast-fashion brand like H&M, the expectation Indians had from the designer seems to have been lost in the actual output. Following the reveal of the collections, Indians didn’t have too many positive reviews - but they sure did have memes.

Even Diet Sabya, the Indian version of Diet Prada, but named after Sabyasachi, wasn’t too fond of the collection. It shared a post of the consensus of its readers - and it wasn’t too positive.

“I’ve done many collaborations and each one is diverse, but what I try to do with every collaboration is further the India story, take it forward; if I cannot have an Indian narrative, I don’t want to do it. With H&M it was such a proud moment, it’s like a lifetime achievement award when it comes to recognition of one’s work. It’s only when your label has a strong voice that it can traverse the mind space of many countries," says the designer.

In what is a truly proud moment for Indian fashion, for the first-time ever fashion giant H&M collaborates with an Indian label to create a capsule collection for its customers across the globe. The Sabyasachi H&M collaboration-themed “Wanderlust" will present rich textiles in modern as well as classic Indian silhouettes that resonate with the modern global nomad mindset.

Due to the complexities of the Covid-19 situation, the launch was put on hold, but the wait is finally over. The much awaited �ready-to-wear’ collection will hit the shelves this Thursday, 12th of August at selects retail stores across the globe and online. The range will bring relaxed sophistication to everyday life in an understated, yet glamorous style.

Speaking about the collection the designer revealed, “What was important for us is embroidery and print. It was important to showcase these handmade creations designed and digitized into a commercial scale by H&M to create timeless, beautiful and affordable clothing. A lot of H&M’s manufacturing is done in India, they brought their best teams in, and we put our heads together to create a line I’m extremely proud of."

The Sabyasachi H&M collection will offer a complete fashion wardrobe for both ladies and men, including accessories, jewellery, footwear, sunglasses all at accessible price points. Some highlight pieces include long flowy dresses, tunics, blouses, breezy shirts, wide pants and more. It will also offer a first of its kind collaboration saree which is exclusively designed for customers in India.

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