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Alia Bhatt, Sabysachi, Mona Patel, and Sudha Reddy, the attendees of the Met Gala 2024, one common thing between them, all of them being Indians. Met Gala is an annual high-end fashion event which is hosted in New York City, USA. It is a fundraising event benefiting the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the event focuses on portraying fashion at the global level, and is also considered as one of the most prominent fashion events around the world.
Illustration by The Geostrata
Founded in 1946, the gala is conducted on the first Monday of May each year, which marks the opening of the institute’s annual exhibition. The chair for this year’s Met is Anna Wintour, along with co-chairs Zendaya, Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, and Chris Hemsworth. Moreover, the theme and dress code for 2024 was ‘The Garden of Time’ which had its origin in a short story written by J.G. Ballard in 1962.
Met Gala has been the epitome of setting fashion trends, acting as a vision for many designers worldwide.
Throughout the years, there has been a growing representation of Indian celebrities, designers, and stylists at the Met Gala, this year as well, numerous Indians were attending the event. Alia Bhatt, Sudha Reddy, Sabyasachi, Natasha Poonawala, and Mona Patel are few to name.
While analysing some of the outfits that these celebrities wore, one can understand the hard work and thought has been put into it to represent the Indian heritage and tradition. Alia Bhatt, a well known figure around the world, wore a custom-made pastel green saree designed by Sabyasachi.
With a 23-foot long train, and embellished with pearls and jewels, it truly made a stunning saree. She was ethereally styled by Anaita Shroff Adajania, with an amalgamation of jewels and accessories.
The outfit symbolises Indian tradition and heritage through highlighting the creative and hardworking craftsmanship by Indian craftsmen, embroiderers and dyers.
The use of pastel colours, fringes, and pearl beadwork are all symbolic of the Indian tradition as articulated and presented by Sabyasachi. The use of mint green pastel colour symbolises the rich nature, the beauty of the environment. The sole promotion and preservation of this exquisite piece of Indian craftsmanship is what makes it memorable and adored by many. A team of 163 people perfectly crafted the saree, which took approximately 1900 hours. This look paid homage to the Indian couture while perfectly blending with modernity.
The saree is an embodiment of Indian culture and craftsmanship, having its roots in Ancient India. This bold and grounded fashion decision taken by a renowned celebrity plays a huge role in further inspiring more people to switch to Indian couture and celebrate our culture and roots. This adds to our soft power in increasing and creating fashion diplomacy around the world.
While decoding fashion diplomacy, it is clear that Indian fashion gets exemplified and receives representation through these events.
Sudha Reddy, a billionaire business woman who is based in Hyderabad, attended the Met Gala in a custom tailored gown designed by Tarun Tahiliani and styled by Gautam Kalra, portrays how an all-Indian team can come together, design, and come together with an elegant outfit. Her gown symbolises Mughal couture and style depicted through the corset.
These prominent examples signify the importance of putting forward the Indian couture which in turn, plays a huge role in fashion diplomacy and representing India.
These acts of representation signifies the rich culture and fashion having Indian roots and thus increases awareness regarding the same.
Prominent Indian designers such as Sabyasachi, Tarun Tahiliani, Gaurav Gupta, Prabal Gurung, and Rahul Mishra perfectly curate a perfect ensemble for people around the world.
Promoting Indian designers further exemplifies how in the contemporary times, India is paving the way and inspiring everyone in the world of fashion and couture.
While talking about Indian designers, more recently at the Canne film festival, Nancy Tyagi, an Indian designer and a prominent social media figure attended the event with three self made outfits, showcasing the diversity that an Indian self made designer can achieve. These events count as massive achievements for the upliftment and promotion of designers around the nation.
To conclude, Indian representation at the Met Gala played an impactful role for enhancing soft power by promoting Indian culture and heritage through fashion. The hard work of the traditional craftsmanship and weavers have been significant in promoting the glory of Indian fashion. Fashion diplomacy continues to increase its importance through collective efforts from all the stakeholders, that is, prominent figures, influencers, designers, stylists, and most importantly the viewers who get inspired from these representations.
BY NANDITA LATA
TEAM GEOSTRATA