Like many New Yorkers, the Ahluwalias like to escape the city in the summer. Last year, Sachin, Babi, and their family took a trip to Tuscany. “We were lucky enough to be able to go somewhere beautiful and glorious, but let me tell you, it was a hot summer,” said Babi.
Also like many New Yorkers: The Ahluwalias turned their escapade into work, in this case by finding inspiration for pre-fall in their European frolic. “We are huge fans of the gardens of Europe, it’s always the botanical that speaks to us,” continued Babi. “But this time it was also the joy of how people live there.” Sachin & Babi, at its core, is a brand about joy. Its expertise is occasionwear, and it’s become a destination for customers looking for a little something to celebrate life in, “be that a backyard barbecue or a beautiful wedding.”
The collection was shot in a museum in Miami, and it happened under Sachin’s supervision while Babi took their youngest child to visit colleges (Another thing about New Yorkers? They love to kill two birds with one stone.) The idea was to merge wanderlust with a sense of pragmatism, hence the romantic florals all made in lightweight linens and cottons that travel well, in addition to the brand’s usual satins and brocades.
Babi said that a focus of theirs of late is to expand the way the brand is perceived past “high occasions” and into the “little moments in life.” A great A-line belted shirt dress certainly hinted at that evolution, but what truly felt like new territory were a mini bridal dress with a bubble hem and an off-the-shoulder golden brocade sack dress. The Ahluwalias know their way around a figure-hugging frock, but their exploration of new silhouettes is promising.
