From Isha Ambani to Karan Johar: India Turned the Carpet into a Canvas

When the biggest night in fashion arrived, India arrived louder.

At the Met Gala 2026, where excess meets expression, this year’s theme—costume as art—could’ve gone wrong in a hundred ways. Instead, India leaned in hard. Designers painted, jewels spoke and Silhouettes carried centuries.

From industry royalty to new-age disruptors, the delegation was stacked: Manish Malhotra, Natasha Poonawalla, Ananya Birla, Mona Patel, Sudha Reddy, Gauravi Kumari, Sawai Padmanabh Singh, Diya Mehta, and Bhavitha Mandava.

And then they walked.

Isha Ambani

A sari. But not as you know it.

Isha Ambani wore Gaurav Gupta, a sculpture like sari—pichwai art hand-painted onto fabric, heirloom jewels stacked like a private museum. Add a mango-shaped bag and a Subodh Gupta hair sculpture. Every detail felt chosen, almost museum-grade in intent.

Karan Johar

Debut. No hesitation.

Karan Johar went full theatre in Manish Malhotra—a hand-painted cape echoing Raja Ravi Varma. Zardozi, quilting and 3D work. While others nodded to the theme, he turned it into a full-blown spectacle.

Manish Malhotra

The designer becomes the exhibit.

In his own bandhgala and artisan-signed cape, Manish Malhotra turned the spotlight where it belongs—on the hands that build the spectacle. Mumbai’s karigars took a bow, silently.

Ananya Birla

First time. Zero fear.

Ananya Birla stepped out in Robert Wun, finished with a steel mask by Subodh Gupta.

Bold choice, risky and memorable.

Natasha Poonawalla

Fashion as armour. Literally.

Natasha Poonawalla channelled Marc Quinn—a sculpted orchid chest piece in gessoed resin over a white gown by Domenico Dolce. It was soft form and hard presence.

Mona Patel

Geometry meets genius.

Mona Patel wore Dolce & Gabbana through the lens of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.

Precision, symmetry and drama.

Sudha Reddy

Three thousand years, stitched into one night.

Sudha Reddy’s “Tree of Life” by Manish Malhotra (with Mariel Haenn) brought Kalamkari alive—3,400 hours of work, a royal blue trail, metal vines curling across fabric. Couture, yes, —but steeped in something far older.

Gauravi Kumari & Sawai Padmanabh Singh

Royalty carries its own gravity and you feel it before it even lands.

Gauravi Kumari and Sawai Padmanabh Singh in Prabal Gurung—Jaipur’s past stitched into velvet, aari, zardozi, dabka and resham. Over 600 hours and you could see every one of them.

Diya Mehta

Quiet craft. Loud story.

Diya Mehta wore Mayyur Girotra—shola carving, a fading Bengal craft, reborn on a Kanjeevaram base. Fashion carried the weight of preservation.

Bhavitha Mandava

Minimal. Divisive. Personal.

Bhavitha Mandava chose Chanel—a callback to her viral debut. The internet is split. She isn’t. At the Met, though, one question lingers: when the room screams, can subtlety still win?

The takeaway?

India carried the idea beyond its original frame.