New Appointment-Only Fashion Favorite Opens Its First Store Outside of New York City In Houston — Sachin Babi Makes a Splash

Two firsts in one night make for an exceptional experience and the 25 women invited to the dinner saluting Sachin & Babi’s first brick and mortar store outside of New York City and the launch of Le Colonial’s catering service turned out to be lucky indeed. It was an evening of beautiful fashions and sophisticated French-Vietnamese food hosted by designers Babi and Sachin Alhuwalia.

“Houston was already one of our strongest markets,” Babi tells PaperCity. “Houston has the culture of weddings, galas, philanthropy and high social events which all align very well to our brand. New York had already demonstrated that the styling-meet-showroom experience could drive meaningful customer engagement and Houston gave us the first opportunity to replicate that model here.”

Compared to the much smaller New York showroom, Houston’s new Sachin & Babi’s 3,000-square-foot space  at 3637 West Alabama in Hollywood Square presents the brand’s celebratory fashions in a sophisticated open setting where the neutral-hued interiors allow the fashions to be the focus. Shoppers visiting the showroom by the required appointment-only will find Sachin Babi’s full line of formal wear, fancy shoes and handbags, and day wear presented in curated vignettes. The collection also includes capsule pieces made especially for the Houston market with the humid climate taken into consideration.

Fans of Sachin & Babi are familiar with the beautiful embellishments as well as the selection of luxury fabrics ranging from brocades to crinkled georgettes, organza to satin and silks, bolts sourced from Italy and Spain. The surprising value in the pieces is due to the New York-based couple’s Indian heritage with its clothes manufactued in a family-run business in South Mumbai.

For the Alhuwalias, community is inherent in the business.

“So for us it’s important to have community over conventional retail. Therefore the strategy was not simply to open a shop but also to establish a presence within the local philanthropic society,” Babi says. “It’s more of a relationship business for us. The showroom allows us to have direct conversations with the client to offer customizations and alterations for them.”

Shoppers can book the recommended 45-minute (more or less) appointment where a stylist provides personal attention and fashion assistance.

“Listening is luxury to us,” Babi says. “So when we listen to what the lady needs us for and we service is property with styling and altering and doing all things right then its more individualistic to each customer. That’s how we want to deliver our brand.”

Following dinner, the lucky women were invited to shop the collection — with the assistance of the designers themselves.

Day two, SullTrain‘s Mark Sullivan and Katherine Ross hosted a cocktail party for the showroom, inviting a select group of femmes for another fashion frolic.

PC Seen: Courtney Harmon, Norra Jarrard, Nina Magon, Maureen  Malik, Zinat Ahmed, Maolly Pouls, Jennifer LeGrand Howard, Nina Rand, Candace Thomas, Alicia Smith, Ellecia Knolle, and Beth Muecke.