Designer Chaos

And the work that emerges from the chaos had the fashionistas raving at the Lakme India Fashion Week 2002, so distinctive was it from the creations of the Delhi and Mumbai-based designers. His layered, asymmetric Indo-Western designs, use of antique embroidery and bright, contradictory colours — all of which were displayed by his trademark bespectacled models — found immediate acceptance among the cognoscenti.

Mukherjee, on his part, attributes a lot of his success to Kolkata. ‘‘The city has a rich background in art and culture. The range of fabric available here is immense, and it is cheaper here than it would be elsewhere. Even the karigars cost less than in the other cities. If Kolkata still does not produce too many designers it’s because people here don’t have the drive to do something on their own,’’ says Mukherjee.

Having decided early on he would not be part of the herd, Mukherjee joined the National Institute of Fashion Technology much against his parents’ wishes and graduated in 1999. ‘‘Although people are talking about the LIFW 2002, it was the CII show last year in Delhi, in which I showed my designs alongside Rina Dhaka and Muzaffar Ali, that jumpstarted my career,’’ says the designer while sipping from a long, cool drink.

After the public notices, it was back to the grindstone once again for Mukherjee. And that meant retiring to the workshop. ‘‘This is my den. This is where I hibernate, mulling over the ideas and inspiration I draw from various people and places. This is where I meet my buyers, where I work with my nine karigars, even where I sleep and eat during the peak seasons,’’ he says. ‘‘Most of the work on clothes that wear the ‘Sabyasachi’ tag is done by hand. I believe in the personalised imperfection of the human hand. I think if a product is absolutely perfect, it’s not lively or interesting.’’

On that note, he returns to his chaos, ready for some more creativity.