Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee says he admires women like Kiran Rao who are comfortable in their own skin.
Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee says he admires women like Kiran Rao who are comfortable in their own skin.
He refuses to follow the herd, doesn't like rules and he burst on to the fashion scene with a collection inspired by sex workers of Sonagachi, Kolkata's infamous red-light district. In short, Kolkata-based couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee is the quintessential free spirit. And considering the theme for the upcoming Lakme Fashion Week's winter 2006 is Free Spirit, Sabyasachi is the ideal choice for being the grand finale designer.
Sabyasachi defines his woman as someone who has clear priorities and knows how to get what she wants. "She's not a catalogue dresser, nor is she bothered about what people have to say about her. When you can stand in front of the mirror and be comfortable with whom you see, you are free," explains the designer. So, who would his muse for this collection be? "Someone like Bjork or the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, because they are extremely well-read and passionate people."
Closer home, Sabyasachi's pick of maverick women includes the likes of sitar player Anoushka Shankar, actor Shabana Azmi and Aamir Khan's wife Kiran Rao.
"Unlike other celebrities, these women aren't trapped by their public personas. They are who they are and their presence can't be ignored. For instance, Kiran Rao got married wearing a simple cotton saree and flowers in her hair. She wasn't pressured by how people expected Aamir Khan's wife to dress. That, for me, is what being free is all about," he says.
From his bohemian family to his style of dressing, Sabyasachi insists that nothing about him is conventional. "People don't think that I dress like a ‘proper' designer should. I don't always wear brands, my shirts are shabby and jeans are very often torn. I don't look like a typical designer," he laughs. "Being quirky is in my blood. If I hadn't become a fashion designer, I could have been a film director, a copywriter or a farmer," he says.
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