Filmmaker Karan Johar made his Met Gala debut with an outfit rooted firmly in Indian heritage. Designed by Manish Malhotra, the ensemble drew on the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma — a fitting choice for this year’s theme, which centred on the meeting of costume and fine art.
Wearable art
The standout feature was the detailed recreation of Ravi Varma’s work. The black ensemble carried hand-painted panels depicting pieces such as Hamsa Damayanthi and Arjuna and Subhadra, with artisans painting the scenes directly onto the fabric and using gold accents to echo the glow of the original oil paintings.
Johar said Ravi Varma’s eye for emotion had shaped his own sensibility as a filmmaker. “Growing up, I was fascinated by how Ravi Varma captured the fall of a saree or the play of light on a face,” he said, describing the look as a culmination of his creative influences.
A long-running collaboration
Johar and Manish Malhotra have worked together for more than three decades, and the designer’s familiarity with him showed in the result. He completed the look with neckpieces and rings from Tyani Jewellery, balancing cultural storytelling with red-carpet polish. The response was warm, with figures like Kareena Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar praising the debut online.
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