September 7, 2007

The Sabyasachi show opened with the prolonged wail of a siren—a call to arms, perhaps? While petite soldier-boy caps and olive-colored parachute dresses alluded to war, the loose layers and flowing bohemian lines suggested otherwise. Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s coiled headscarves, full-length Moroccan tunics, and cascading linen pants actually managed to look refugee chic. Drop-waist dresses and oversized shirts in tan, burnt orange, military green, and sand looked scorched by desert rays. The models—with long, deliberately tousled and knotted locks—seemed to have wandered right out of a scene of The English Patient. One flaxen-haired girl wore a stunning sequined tunic over a worn gabardine button-down, like an army deserter who’d stumbled upon a maharaja’s buried treasure and threw on the palace garb for protection against the elements. The collection’s more tongue-in-cheek elements included sickle-and-hammer, Star of David, and cross appliqués emblazoned across t-shirts and backs of jackets, as well as ‘60s references in the form of tinted John Lennon glasses and gently flowered prints. Some might find Mukherjee’s political and religious allusions heavy-handed or campy, but the youthful exuberance of the show made everyone want to bop along to the music, reclaim the idealism of the hippie era, and embrace every culture under the sun.