sachin + babi ready-to-wear fall 2012

I revel at my own predictability, too.

Black! Jewel tones! Leather! Bodycon! (Werq! … I kid). I set myself up for any comments regarding sounding like a broken record, but at least I get brownie points for consistency – but a bit of leniency, here: black will always be the new black, but here is a new name, a new face to add to the (predictable) list of favorite designers.

SACHIN + BABI.

I’m a bit perturbed I didn’t hear of them before Fashion Week this year – but better later than never, non? The duo, Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia, founded the brand two and a half years ago. And while SACHIN + BABI is a fairly up-and-coming name, it was borne out of years of prior experience in couture embroidering for upscale fashion houses, from the husband and wife’s desire to delve into ready-to-wear.

This brand, SACHIN + BABI, would “bring couture products to the contemporary girl.”

I’m hardly familiar enough with the brand to nod vigorously in agreement to that statement. It’s a wonderful vision; there’s no doubt in that. But what I can say is that they’ve brought a global aesthetic to contemporary design: I hesitate to label it “multiethnic” as most reviews would call it (I have issues with everything non-Western being grouped as “ethnic,” but that is another story for another day), but I suppose it wouldn’t be entirely wrong to call it that. There’s a definite reference to Indian culture tied into New York influences – and with those two main pulls come a fusion of what Sachin and Babi call “a fusion of old-world techniques and modern sensibility.”

 It’s pretty gone edgy. Sensuality sans the frill and phloof that often come with femininity (though there is no wrong in that!). This is the collection for the likes of Carine Roitfeld and Julia Restoin-Roitfeld – both of whom are personal style icons – for women who are strong, in control, and in charge. And never afraid to be a woman. Here’s to coquettes who seduce rather than conquer.

I could own just bits and pieces of this collection and be forever content. Beautiful, classic silhouettes that take a lady from day to night, from work to an evening out. It’s a wholesome collection in the sense that there’s no gaps; all occasions are covered. A-line skirts, pencil skirts. Lace and leather. Corporate-appropriate dresses and glamorous gowns, undone. All anchored with black, spruced with rich jewel-tones.

A girl could never go wrong with these things.

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