Sachin & Babi Noir Pre-Fall 2016

Since 2009, the design husband and wife duo, Sachin & Babi has had their fingers on the pulse of the modern woman’s ever-evolving desire to have beauty in her life that matches her expanded lifestyle.  Their pre-fall 2016 collection reflects Sachin & Babi’s evolution as a design team and their particular understanding of the vicissitudinous nature of the fashion industry.

The directional shift of Sachin & Babi is perhaps most reflected in a name change of the eponymous brand to Sachin & Babi Noir with a focus primarily on eveningwear. What was once just a offshoot to their more well-known namesake line, Sachin & Babi have now fused Noir into their singular design projection.

For pre-fall 2016 where some brands abandoned the trend of big floral prints from last season for fall/winter collections in favor of lots of fringe and reinventions of the classic Chanel jackets with unfinished edges in light tweeds, light metallic, or trans-seasonal fabrics for pre-fall 2016 Sachin & Babi decided to stay with big floral prints for pre-fall funneled through the prism of floral explosions seen in Frida Kahlo paintings.

Staying the course with big floral prints not only sets Sachin & Babi apart from pre-fall 2016 collections but also demonstrates their design acumen in re-imaging the continuing trend of big floral prints. Off-the-shoulder blouses paired with embroidered and appliqued big floral skirts in bold but more somber variations of pale skty blue, cobalt blue,  and turmeric yellow expands consumers’ choice of color palettes that now have a more trans-seasonal appeal.  Encompassing the ruffle trend from last season was expertly and subtly married with asymmetrical cuts and cutaway silhouettes.

Though this collection was more focused on eveningwear, the many separates in the collection could easily be paired with a variety of daywear items. Still, there were lots of reference points and cultural influences for pre-fall—Spanish matador, 1950s tea-length dresses, and Fridal Kahlo—that all managed to meld into one continuous design kaleidoscope, without one motif overpowering the others.

—William S. Gooch