Sachin & Babi

Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia met as students at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, and both grew up in India. Before they had a label, they had an embroidery business: ANK International began in 1996 and supplied houses including Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and they worked with Oscar de la Renta for almost 20 years on embroideries and embellishments. Their first ready-to-wear line followed in 2009, and it began with refined evening wear, fabric sourced from Italy and embroidery by Indian artisans. That background shows in this first group. The Marta gown appears in several versions, the embellished mikado ball gown, the floral mikado gown and the belted floral mikado gown, which makes it easy to see how one shape changes with the surface. Brooklynne comes as a gown and a floral mikado gown, and the Shelby floral shift gown, Sophia floral strapless column gown and the strapless floral jacquard column gown are the slimmer options. The Caterina, Naira and Laura midi dresses and the Blaine bow midi are for shorter hemlines. If the invitation says black tie, a guide to black tie wedding guest dresses covers the dress code.

The second group continues with the label's occasion wardrobe. The Olivia one-shoulder embellished mikado gown, the Bonne one-shoulder bow column gown and the Estrella draped one-shoulder column gown are the clearest shapes for evening. The Adellyn floral-print mikado column gown, the Larisa floral mikado gown and the Mae floral satin gown bring in color, while the Valeria mock neck A line gown is the more covered choice. For shorter dresses, the Cora leopard mini, the Shay printed strapless midi and the Fairfield printed midi are lighter, and the Paola embroidered-hem midi keeps the embroidery at the hem. What I would skip is a long floral gown for a ceremony where the dress code says cocktail; pick one of the midis instead so you are not the longest dress in the room. For comparison, beaded gowns and satin ball gowns shows another take on the same occasion, and garden formal is the one to read for an outdoor setting.

The brand has gone from evening wear to cocktail, daywear, bridal and jewelry, and the bags are the smallest way into it. On The Rocks is the clutch line here, in printed satin, sequin tweed, printed jacquard and embellished satin, plus an embroidered evening bag. Bubbly is the top handle bag, in sequin tweed, with a bow and embellished. I would pick the clutch to match a print in the dress, or pick a plain one for a heavily embroidered gown so that the embellishment gets one clear place to shine. The label is now known simply as Sachin Babi, and these bags carry the same occasion wardrobe idea into a small size. With a plain column dress, the sequin tweed styles bring the sparkle on their own.

Sachin and Babi started with a family-run factory in South Mumbai, and they still control design, sampling and production there. That is the part I find most interesting, because a gown with this much embellishment needs people who understand it. I would choose one floral gown and one clutch, and let the embroidery do the talking. For parents of the couple, mother of the bride dresses is a useful next read, and brown wedding guest dresses covers a softer palette.