Sabyasachi, India’s designer to stars, says big weddings are out of style

By Menaka Doshi

India’s most famous bridalwear designer is calling an end to the industry he helped supersize.

Sales of elaborate bridal outfits — typically weighing up to 17 pounds and costing more than $6,800 — are declining, according to Sabyasachi Mukherjee, who has dressed some of India’s most famous women, including billionaire heiress Isha Ambani. Modern brides are now looking for more low-key designs as part of a broader shift away from traditionally ostentatious wedding celebrations, he said.

“The wedding industry in India as we know of it today is breathing its last,” Mukherjee said in an interview at his 25,000-square-foot (2,323 square meter) store in Mumbai.

Sustained economic growth is transforming India’s consumer landscape and its increasingly affluent population has made the country one of the fastest-growing luxury markets in the world.

At the top end, the number of people with a net worth of more than $30 million is expected to grow 50 per cent between 2023 and 2028, according to McKinsey & Co. But aspirational customers are set to balloon too, hitting 100 million by 2027, the consulting firm estimates.

That presents immense opportunity, and Mukherjee said there’s been an increase in purchases of “entry-level” saris. But it’s also made carving out market share “survival of the fittest,” he said. His company is set to earn about $60 million in revenue this year, he estimates.

Lifestyle Brand

Mukherjee says his current focus is on adding stores in India, before any significant global expansion, and launching additional product lines.

That includes boosting his offerings of jewelery, which already account for about a quarter of revenue and will soon surpass his label’s apparel sales, to include smaller ornaments at competitive prices. Perfume and beauty products are set to launch within a year and Mukherjee said he wants to leverage his wallpaper and furnishings line into designing homes and hotels.

“I’ve never considered Sabyasachi to be a fashion brand, it’s a lifestyle brand,” he said. Some of his expansion plans will rely on collaborations, he said. So far, he’s worked with Hennes & Mauritz AB and Starbucks Corp., as well as Bergdorf Goodman.

The growth of India’s premium sector is attracting some of the country’s wealthiest tycoons. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Brands Ltd. has invested in MM Styles Ltd., which owns the eponymous fashion house run by Bollywood stylist Manish Malhotra. The conglomerate has also taken a 52 per cent stake in the label of Ritu Kumar, another Indian designer.

Kumar Mangalam Birla has also added a luxury presence. That includes a 51 per cent stake in Mukherjee’s Sabyasachi brand bought in 2021.

That backing is core to Mukherjee’s ambitions to build a homegrown luxury brand that can compete with European and American labels. “Soon, India will be the biggest and I want to ride that wave,” he said.