Sabyasachi Mukherjee

Indian fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee is celebrated for his distinctly modern take on traditional Indian clothing. Born to a middle class Bengali family in Kolkata, Mukherjee initially planned for a career in medicine, but was drawn to the National Institute of Fashion Technology, which he attended.

After graduating in 1999, with three major distinctions, Mukherjee opened his workshop with a workforce of just three people. From there, he debuted at India Fashion Week in 2002, earning praise for his work from Women’s Wear Daily, who proclaimed him the future of Indian fashion. Subsequently, he won several design awards from the Mercedez-Benz New Asia fashion week and Lakmé Fashion Week, which gave him time to work alongside the studios of Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris. He was then stocked at influential London boutique Browns and given the distinction of being the first Indian designer to show at Milan Fashion Week.

In the years since, he has parlayed feminine, decorative and balanced designs into a self-made apparel company with a lucrative bridal business, as well as important Bollywood costume projects. Using indigenous crafts of dying and weaving fabric, incorporated with modern silhouettes, he has spearheaded a push by Indian designers into the broader international fashion market.