Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia have been stealthily revamping their label over the last few seasons. They first moved their lookbook release timeline to a see-now, buy-now schedule last year, then launched a line of handbags and footwear, and are now refining their storytelling and thinking more expansively about how they present their collections visually. The Ahluwalias have made themselves indispensable to New York’s eveningwear labels with their work supplying sumptuous embroidered fabrics; the goal now is to make their own collection a cocktail attire destination itself.
Past lookbooks have been shot in exterior locations, leveraging the vibrant botanical language Sachin and Babi have made a signature of their collections. This season, the idea was to present the lineup in a different way. These images were taken at Grand Central Station, playing up the New Yorker quality of the label to imbue a sense of romance to the collection. The result is elevated and playful, reminiscent of iconic TV and film scenes set in the iconic building. (Serena van der Woodsen returns, anyone?)
With this post-pandemic second wind has also come a newfound polish in the Ahluwalias’ collections. Florals remain present, but here were approached with more sophistication. Sachin quoted the work of photographer Ron Van Dongen as a reference, his close up portraits of flowers inspiring the oversized roses on a night out-ready tea length LBD and a fabulous matching evening coat. “We generally think of roses and flowers in the daylight, but the rose is equally beautiful in the moonlight, so we took that as inspiration,” said Sachin during a preview.
Most novel here was a cotton button down embroidered with white sequins paired with a sparkling silver skirt. “Going forward, we’re expanding the collection to see where it goes,” added Sachin. “Occasion dressing is no longer just about gowns, and learning that is how we’ve been able to evolve here.”