H 5/11 Mehrauli Road. The H in that address could well stand for heritage. For there stands the 14th century horse stable near Qutb Minar that came to be known 19 years ago as Carma, one of the country’s first multi-designer fashion stores.
On Wednesday night, the store returned to the spotlight (after a closure due to a change in Delhi laws), rejuvenated and reincarnated as Sabyasachi @ Carma.
As the Calcutta-based designer’s flagship store opened its doors on a cold winter evening with a pianist making music in the garden against flickering candles in the wind, t2 was there to bring you the first look…

Sabya on his stores

Your stores are emerging with such strong character… do you worry that the interiors will overshadow the goods?

No, I don’t think so. It just adds to the whole. A client who came to my store recently told me that she feels like wearing Sabyasachi all over again. She said my stores represent everything I stand for.

What is the brief you give yourself before you start designing your store?

It should always reflect the home a Sabyasachi woman should be in…

Three stores in under three months — strategy or coincidence?

It is not exactly strategy but more a clever decision. At the end of the day, when you are at a multi-designer store, the real vision cannot come through since you are sharing your vision with others. This way, people who walk in will come for your sense of aesthetics. With my stores, I will involve more than just the sense of sight. When there will be Urdu music or ghazals playing, the aroma in the store will be rose; with piano, there will be lavender and with classical or thumri we will have jasmine.

How big a deal is it for you to open a flagship store in Delhi?

I have a very strong clientele in Delhi so it is a big deal. Also, this is the city that made me who I am. My first fashion week was here.

Is your production ready to support the stores?

Last season when I didn’t do fashion week, I was carefully planning my production. I had decided that 2009 was going to be the year of retail. The next year will be for consolidation.

What are five features that are inherent in any Sabya store?

1. It must smell of India.

2. It must have earthy walls.

3. It has to have old architecture and furniture.

4. It must have romance and dignity.

5. It must be full of Indian textiles and prints.