The great Indian maximalist takeover

Inside the Sabyasachi flagship store in Mumbai, named as one of the seven World’s Most Beautiful Emporiums by the Prix Versailles

22 Jan 2026

Chiransha Prasad

Call it a coup. Call it a restoration of natural order. But one can’t help but derive some satisfaction from a British-era Neo- Classical building becoming an ode to India’s enduring craft legacy. What was once the British Bank of the Middle East now houses four storeys of designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s larger-than-life, unabashedly maximal design universe — one that has earned the rare distinction of being named as one of the seven World’s Most Beautiful Emporiums by the Prix Versailles. Enter through the wooden double doors, and you’re sucked into a sepia- tinged museum of inconceivable scale and beauty.

The store is home to 275 carpets, 150 artworks restored by the Sabyasachi Art Foundation and 3000 books — but numbers don’t do justice to the splendour of it all

Lush lounges and tea rooms allow visitors moments to pause before immersing themselves in Sabyasachi’s universe; Photography by Björn Wallander

The store is home to 275 carpets, 150 artworks restored by the Sabyasachi Art Foundation and 3000 books — but numbers don’t do justice to the splendour of it all. Each corner is decadently layered with antiques from distinct worlds and timelines: from Tanjore paintings and Pichwais sitting against French Art Nouveau cabinets, to Calcutta-born brass sculptures standing tall against Tang dynasty pottery. These objects set the stage for the couturier’s bridal and ready-to-wear creations, accessories and the largest collection of his ornate high jewellery in the world — all pieces of art in their own right. India may have been on the moodboard before, but a rise in Indian references walking down the runway each passing season proves that the country was the blueprint all along. Our legacy remains indisputable.