Bollywood comes to Hollywood
Footwear line is a perfect fit for designers Christian Louboutin, Sabyasachi Mukherjee
Demi Moore and daughter Rumer Willis, Dita Von Teese and Langley Fox were a few of the boldfaced names who turned out at the Just One Eye boutique in Hollywood recently to fete an exclusive collaboration between French footwear designer Christian Louboutin and Indian fashion designer and Bollywood costume designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee.
The limited-edition Christian Louboutin x Sabyasachi capsule collection for men and women features sneakers, loafers, sandals, booties and boots ranging from $1,095 to $4,995 as well as $2,450 handbags.
Some of the lavishly hand-embroidered styles are made to order and use sari fabrics from Mukherjee’s archives. The collaboration is available only at Just One Eye and marks the brand’s official West Coast debut. It is sold alongside an exclusive, 60-piece Sabyasachi women’s apparel collection of jackets, tunics, skirts and dresses handmade at the designer’s atelier in Kolkata, India.
In L.A. for the launch, the designers looked on in delight as dancers acted out a Sleeping Beauty-inspired story, written by Louboutin, in which a woman in a deep sleep is finally roused by an exquisite pair of Christian Louboutin x Sabyasachi boots. Just One Eye co-founder Paola Russo organized the performance, choreographed by Alex Magno, who has worked with Madonna.
“We will only make three pairs of this boot in blue because there’s not enough fabric,” said Louboutin, pointing to a made-toorder style. “We’ve been stealing anything we can from Sabya, so there is not much left. I call it the ‘Cinderella syndrome’: You see it, you love it, rush because it will vanish after midnight .... To me, he is definitely the most important designer in India; apart from his talent, he has a huge respect for handicraft and artisanship and is fantastic at mixing things.”
The pair first crossed paths a few years ago at the Sabyasachi boutique in Mumbai. Louboutin had come in to shop and met the designer, who had himself just arrived in town — though without a proper change of clothes. “I had lost my luggage, so I was wearing a pair of track pants and really dirty flip-flops,” recounted Mukherjee, who said he was nearly too embarrassed to meet the legendary shoe designer. Luckily for both, he overcame that, and the two would go on to become collaborators, with Louboutin designing shoes and handbags for the Sabyasachi couture collections in 2015 and 2016.
“We make all our own fabrics and embroideries and prints in Kolkata,” said Mukherjee, noting that he would like to dress Blake Lively and Meryl Streep. “L.A. is glamorous in a very casual way. It has a strong sense of bohemian luxury, so I did this collection of chiffon and velvet in styles that are a little more slouchy and easy. I like that L.A. is horizontal, not vertical; it’s such a pleasure that you can see the sky. There’s such a sense of freedom here. The whole city feels like you’re on holiday.”
“This collection is not just about L.A.; it’s also about this store,” Louboutin added. “The people from Just One Eye have a very, very big eye. Every time I [come] to L.A., I come to this place to look at things. It’s very inspiring.”