Sabyasachi, 45, Fashion Designer

Anyone who usually goes by one boldface name usually signals his or her arrival in the upper echelons of stardom—and the boy from Chandannagore who had to travel in a hand- rowed boat to get to his school is no different. The designer who has made Bengal aesthetic an object of nationwide lust is everyone’s favourite. The most imitated by the fake market, the most courted by the fashion media and the most trolled by critics, he makes news every time he dresses a new bride or designs or speaks of how every Indian woman should know how to drape a saree or how an overdressed woman is usually a wounded one. The designer trained at NIFT champions the best of Indian artistry in textiles and embellishments, and espouses a unique ‘luxury craft’ possible only in India where Kanjeevarams can sit comfortably with Khadi and Banarasi brocade can blend beautifully with Odisha ikat. Part recluse, part showman, all artist, he now presides over a fashion house that collaborates with the finest in the world (from Christian Louboutin to Pottery Barn), across a multitude of products, and has a turnover of just under Rs 250 crore a year.

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