New Delhi: India’s gifted luxury designer Sabyasachi is collaborating with The Metropolitan Museum of Art for New York Fashion Week.
As part of the multi-year partnership, the Sabyasachi house has created a collection of fine jewellery inspired by the museum’s Byzantine art. It is set to debut in September this year.
“The Met | Sabyasachi collaboration is an exploration of how culture travels, evolves, and endures, drawing from 5,000 years of history preserved within the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City,” Sabyasachi posted on Instagram. “This collection reimagines cultural exchange of the Byzantine Empire through High Jewellery, transforming historic designs into modern heirlooms.”
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5000 years of history
The Byzantine Empire was the eastern half of the Roman Empire, and it lasted for more than a thousand years. The Empire’s origins can be traced back to 330 AD. It ended when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople. In its lifetime, Byzantine culture became a bridge between Slavic Europe and the classical Greek and Roman worlds, Western Europe and the Islamic world. The art made in that era has lived to this day, in different iterations.
“Now, Sabyasachi reinterprets these shared histories through a contemporary lens, transforming historical design into modern creations. The result is a collection of modern heirlooms, rooted in the past, crafted for today,” Sabyasachi’s official statement read.
The collection, at first glance, is big, chunky pendants and broad, heavy bracelets. One pendant necklace is “inspired by an 8th-century Iranian plate crafted in 18-karat and 22-karat gold, studded with faceted Tourmaline and cabochons of Tourmaline, Garnet, Onyx, Jade and Turquoise.” In the centre, a female figure rides a winged beast. The piece is attributed to Iran, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1963. Another pendant is inspired by a 13th- 15th-century Byzantine Cameo with a 210-carat carved Jasper. There’s also a necklace by a 17th-century Islamic coin with zodiac motifs.
The jewellery collection will be on the runway at New York Fashion Week. The jewellery will also be available at the brand’s flagship store in New York City’s West Village, and other global Sabyasachi stores.