1,800-carat jewelry, a $15 million tanzanite, and a hand-woven gold sari: the fabulous wealth of India's elite at the Met Gala
On the night of May 4-5, New York once again became the center of global fashion: the long-awaited Met Gala Costume Institute gala took place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Among the guests, in addition to Western celebrities, were members of the Indian elite: members of royal families, heirs to business empires, film and fashion figures, and their outfits were particularly luxurious and opulent. Spletnik has compiled the most impressive and expensive looks of the evening.
Isha Ambani, daughter of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and head of Reliance Industries, wore a Gaurav Gupta gown. The dress was a sari woven from pure gold threads and adorned with hand embroidery, which took 50 artisans over 1,200 hours to complete. Her mother, Nita Ambani, developed the look in collaboration with the jewelry house Kantilal Chhotalal, adding over 200 diamonds from the family archive, totaling over 1,800 carats. However, the main accent was created by the sculptural hair accessory – each jasmine bud was handcrafted from copper, paper, and brass, coated with Indian paints, while a miniature mango handbag symbolized fertility.
Padmanabh Singh and his sister, Princess Gauravi Kumari of the Jaipur royal family, also impressed the crowd. The princess chose a soft pink custom sari by Prabal Gurung, crafted from the personal collection of her legendary grandmother, Maharani Gayatri Devi. The look was completed with layered pearl necklaces, rubies, and uncut diamonds from the Palace of Gems in Jaipur. Padmanabh Singh wore a "Phulgarh coat" of navy blue velvet with aari and zardozi embroidery, which took over 600 hours of painstaking work to create.
Director and producer Karan Johar made his Met Gala debut in Manish Malhotra's "Framed in Eternity" ensemble. The nearly six-foot-long cape, hand-painted in a design inspired by Raja Ravi Varma paintings, was paired with a vintage, wide-shouldered jacket. The ensemble took 86 days and 5,800 hours to complete, requiring 80 artisans.
Manish Malhotra himself also attended the event. The master of haute couture created a black bandhgala suit with slim trousers and an ivory-colored embroidered coat, where every detail referenced Mumbai life—the architecture, trains, taxis, and the rhythm of the metropolis. The embroidery included the names of all 50 artisans who spent nearly 960 hours working on the suit.
Ananya Birla, a member of a renowned business dynasty, wore two outfits. The first was a Robert Woon gown with a metallic bodice inspired by Indian bronze sculpture and a voluminous skirt, complemented by a fitted black blazer with a sculpted peplum and a custom metal mask by artist Subodh Gupta. The second outfit was a Harris Reed gown inspired by M. F. Husain's painting "Woman with a Sitar."
Sudha Reddy, director of MEIL Group, wore a gown designed by Marielle Haenn and Manish Malhotra, created especially for the Met Gala. The velvet corset silhouette with a dramatic train and hand-embroidered tulle cape featured a "Tree of Life" emblem crafted from brass, copper, and silver. The centerpiece was a necklace valued at approximately $15 million, featuring a 550-carat deep blue-violet tanzanite surrounded by large diamonds. The look was completed with massive rings featuring a 23-carat yellow diamond and a 30-carat rose-cut diamond.
Businesswoman Natasha Poonawalla chose a white Dolce & Gabbana dress with a massive Orchid Pectoral sculpture by British artist Marc Quinn. The orchid-themed outfit was complemented by an expensive ensemble of diamond earrings and a crystal ring from Outhouse Jewellery.
Фото: Jamie McCarthy/Getty ImagesJulian Hamilton/Getty ImagesMike Coppola/Getty Imagesananyabirla/Instagram**