Sachin & Babi

For weddings, galas and milestone evenings, many shoppers feel they are. Sachin & Babi specializes in refined evening gowns and separates known for unique embroideries, so you are buying the kind of embellishment and detailing usually associated with far pricier houses. As event wear you will photograph and remember, the value tends to land for occasion dressing rather than everyday closet basics.

Embroidery is the heart of the label. Before launching their own line, Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia worked as embroidery craftsmen creating authentic Indian threadwork, and that expertise defines the brand's contemporary womenswear of refined evening gowns and separates. The intricate hand-embellishment is the signature you are really paying for.

The brand is named after and run by its founder-designers, husband-and-wife duo Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia. Both are from India and met as students at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology in 1994, where Sachin studied fashion design and Babi studied textiles. They fell in love at school and built the business together.

Their break came through Oscar de la Renta. In 1997 the pair were introduced to him and showed some of their embroidery work, and Oscar decided to put their embroidery on his evening gowns. That partnership launched their business, and they went on to supply embroideries to other top-name brands before starting their own label.

The eponymous Sachin & Babi womenswear collection launched in 2009, when the design duo returned to the fashion industry under their own name. The label is a fashion-design house based in New York City, offering luxury design with a more accessible price than traditional couture houses.

Yes. During bridal fashion week in 2016 the brand made its first move into bridal, introducing a 12-piece wedding dress collection for Spring 2017. The same embroidery craft that defines their eveningwear carries into the bridal pieces.

No, the offering has broadened over time. In 2020 the brand expanded its all-gown label to include cocktail dresses and daywear, giving shoppers more than just floor-length options while keeping the same embellished sensibility the duo is known for.

Beyond the namesake line, in 2004 the couple launched a luxury home brand called Ankasa on New York's Upper East Side, opening with embroidered pillows and accessories. In 2021 they also started The Good Kloth Company, making well-designed uniforms and protective gear for front-line and essential workers.

You can shop directly through the brand's own site, which became a major channel after the company shifted heavily toward direct e-commerce in 2021. As an established New York eveningwear house, its gowns and separates are also a regular presence at occasion-focused and designer retailers.

Treat the embroidery as the delicate centerpiece it is. Heavily embellished and beaded eveningwear is best professionally cleaned rather than machine washed, stored flat or padded on a wide hanger so the threadwork keeps its shape, and kept away from snags. Gentle handling protects the hand-detailing that gives the piece its value.