Filmmaker Karan Johar made a regal debut at Met Gala in an ensemble inspired by the paintings of legendary Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma.
Johar, a noted fashion enthusiast, collaborated with his designer friend Manish Malhotra to create the outfit. He wore a heavily embroidered black bandhgala shirt paired with black trousers. However, the highlight of his look was the majestic cape, crafted with artisanal mastery to bring the artistic world of Raja Ravi Varma to life on textile.
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Varma’s most celebrated works Hamsa Damayanti, Kadambari, and Arjuna and Subhadra, among others, were used as inspiration. The outfit brings together several art forms, as a bevy of techniques such as hand painting, 3D sculpting, quilting, and traditional zardozi embroidery were used to create it.
“Inspired by the art of Raja Ravi Varma. Raja Ravi Varma felt right because his work does something I’ve always tried to do in cinema. He painted feelings,” Johar wrote in an Instagram post.
“And who better than my oldest partner in crime and fashion to help me bring this to life other than Manish Malhotra. To bring our Indian culture to the global stage with the vision of couture and gratitude woven together, is an art form in itself which he has mastered. You made me feel like a canvas for your art, thank you,” Johar added.
The Met Gala red carpet witnessed a flurry of art-inspired looks, with many literally carrying art in their hands as well, as the dress code was “fashion is art.” Isha Ambani is one among them. She took a mango sculpture by Subodh Gupta to the carpet with her regal tissue gold saree.
Apart from Karan Johar and Isha Ambani, designer Manish Malhotra, Natasha Poonawalla, Sudha Reddy, and Jaipur royal siblings Gauravi Kumari and Sawai Padmanabh Singh also attended the Met Gala in New York City on May 4.
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