The distinguished Indian fashion brand Sabyasachi has partnered with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art for a new line of jewelry inspired by the institution’s vast collection.
Sabyasachi, which was founded by designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, will unveil the jewelry line on September 15 as part of New York Fashion Week, WWD reports. The line marks the first part of a multiyear collaboration with the Met, “beginning with designs informed by the art and material culture of the Byzantine Empire. While future iterations are expected to extend across jewelry, accessories and clothing, the debut chapter exists solely as high jewelry alongside Mukherjee’s cross seasonal ready-to-wear and accessories collections.”
Sabyasachi’s show in the fall will mark the brand’s return to New York after two decades since his 2006 debut in the city—when his “understanding of global fashion was still quite parochial because I had not seen enough of the world,” he told WWD. Now, Mukherjee said, “The top echelon of customers globally are becoming less interested in certain brands because they are ubiquitous. They are looking for discovery. They want products that might come from somewhere unexpected, but which speak very clearly about quality, authenticity, craftsmanship and luxury.”
Of the multiyear collaboration with the Met, Mukherjee said, “The deeper I went into The Met’s collections, the more it reinforced something I have believed for a very long time: in the pursuit of modernization, the world has lost an enormous amount of craftsmanship.”
The first offerings will include pieces inspired by Byzantine artworks including imperial medallions, architectural ornaments, and statuary. About the connection with singular treasures at the Met, Mukherjee said, “Luxury has always derived its value from scarcity. Design, craftsmanship and provenance will increasingly determine the value of high jewelry, not the stone alone.”
