Sabyasachi Mukherjee reflects on how working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali shaped his design philosophy, from insisting on fully finished sets to crafting a meticulously detailed flagship store in Delhi. He argues that overexposure and constant “looks” cheapen luxury, rejects custom outfits that dilute his voice, and resists labels like “king of fashion,” valuing distance from trends.
There are arguably very few who understand just how inextricably linked fashion and film are, both in thought and in practise, as well as Indian designer and couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee.
Mukherjee began his career as a fashion designer in 1999 and soon into it, also made his debut as a costume designer with veteran filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2005 film Black, which won with the National Film Award for Best Costume Design. This early tryst with designing what the actors would fashion on screen not only introduced Mukherjee to new creative avenues for his art, but also taught him where to draw the line between the glamour and staying true to his craft.
In an exclusive conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, the designer speaks about how Bhansali's approach to his set inspired how he designed a part of his own store, the kind of looks the younger generation concerns itself too much with, and why, even after making such a massive mark in the industry, he doesn’t wish to be called the king of fashion.
As the designer speaks with THR India, he sits in his newly opened 26,000 square feet flagship store in Delhi, dense with blue and cream vases and romantic long corridors filled inch-by-inch with pieces that feel like they belong in an art museum. Coming to the bathroom, which is just as consciously designed as the rest of the store, the designer explains how the inspiration to create it just as well as the rest of his store came from Bhansali's approach to his own sets, and the realisation that many beautiful stores had downgraded bathrooms.
“I learnt this from Bhansali. I was doing Guzaarish with him and there was a part of the set that would never be seen on camera, and he insisted on laying tiles at the back. I asked Sanjay “Why? This will never come on camera.” He said “I cannot work on a half-made set, even if it doesn’t show (on screen).”
"I’m like that too. For me, a bathroom is a place which is most private so it should be the most beautiful because then you realise the integrity of a brand.”
Mukherjee also explains that actors today tend to concern themselves too much with having “red carpet looks” or “airport looks” every chance they get. “That's a disservice to luxury, which needs to stay a little discreet,” he asserts.
He also holds a firm opinion about custom clothing and believes that it often risks the designer trading their own voice for that of the stylist or actor. “ If my clothes are not good enough for you to wear from the rack, then don’t come to me... because I’m not going to make custom clothes,” he says.
As he was being called the “king of fashion,” Mukherjee interrupts the sentence and corrects: “I don’t think I am. I know very little of fashion myself. ”
He proceeds to explain why and it becomes clear that his approach hinges on a formula that is simple to state but just as difficult to employ, especially for someone already so integrated into the industry as he is.
“I survived and I'm successful because I know very little of fashion; I think that distance gives me a bit of an objective view,” he muses.
Watch the full interview drop on The Hollywood Reporter India YouTube channel later today