When it comes to the most highly-anticipated events on the fashion calendar, the MET Gala is right up there. This year, South Asians dominated the red carpet at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for “The Garden of Time”-themed soiree. But beyond the brown celebrities spotted walking up the famous steps, it was actually the South Asian designers that truly brought the glamour.
Nepalese-American designer Prabal Gurung is no stranger to Fashion Week events or dressing celebrities for awards shows. This year he dressed several famous faces for the MET Gala, including Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley. The 29-year-old turned heads in a beautiful blue cut-out gown featuring various shades of blue and glimmering sequins, making us all pray for a South Asian little mermaid.
Giving a nod to her brown roots, Ashley captioned a few photos of her MET look with the note, “Thank you so much to the incredible team who made this sari and lehenga inspired look come to life”.
Meanwhile Demi Lovato, actor Gayle Rankin and Icelandic singer Laufey were also all dressed by Gurung, making it a busy night for the designer and his team, but no doubt a special one as well.
We’ve all seen the recent Ambani wedding craze, but a different Ambani, Isha graced the world famous stairs wearing Rahul Mishra Couture. Three dimensional birds, moths, butterflies and sea creatures were featured in the strapless gown with a very long trail, with the designer explaining on Instagram: “On a light shimmery base, the embellishments include intricate thread embroidery which is supplemented with materials such rhinestones, sequins, bugle beads, zari, kundan and more and explores various ancient Indian techniques of embroidery including fareesha, zardozi, nakshi, dabka and French knots among others”.
Coming a long way from her Office time, and doctor’s scrubs in The Mindy Project was Mindy Kaling, rocking a Gaurav Gupta gown that the designer describes as a creation “evoking a surreal journey through loops of infinity”. Meanwhile, Sudha Reddy, possibly the most understated Indian billionaire, wore Tarun Tahiliani crafted by 80 artisans.
And the name that comes to everyone’s mind when they hear of South Asian designers… Sabayasachi! The mononym that evokes history when you hear it was front and centre on the red carpet, as the radiant Alia Bhatt looked resplendent in a floral sari that accentuated the signature grace and radiance she always exudes. Plus, the man himself, Sabayasachi Mukherjee became the first Indian designer to grace the stairs.
Other South Asian stars also arrived at the event including Ambika Mod (wearing Loewe), Mona Patel (wearing Iris Van Herpen) and Natasha Poonawala (wearing Maison Margiela). And while it was such a joy to see all South Asian stars being brown and proud and present, it was even more heartwarming to see designers from South Asian backgrounds weaving their magic on fashion’s night of nights.