Filmmaker Karan Johar made his Met Gala debut this year, marking a defining moment as the first Indian director to represent India at the event. Designed by his close friend and ace designer Manish Malhotra, the ensemble was inspired by the work of Raja Ravi Varma. It reimaged the painter’s visual language through couture.
“I didn’t want to arrive here trying to explain India,” Johar said. Adding, “I wanted to arrive feeling like myself, and that automatically brings everything I come from with it.”
He continued, “For me, it had to feel personal, and the moment it felt personal, it became Indian, because that’s where everything I know comes from. Every story I’ve told, every film I’ve made, every emotion I’ve tried to put on screen has come from this place. Raja Ravi Varma felt right because his work does something I’ve always tried to do in cinema. Ravi Varma painted feelings. The way a sari falls, the way a figure holds itself, the light on a face that is somehow both divine and completely human. I’ve grown up with those images without always knowing it. They live in you before you can name them. This look is my way of wearing that inheritance, and I think that’s the most honest thing I could have done for my first MET. To arrive not with a concept, but with a feeling I’ve carried my whole life and finally found the right form for.”
The garment draws from some of Varma’s most iconic works, such as Hamsa Damayanti, Kadambari, Arjuna and Subhadra, and There Comes Papa. The look was created over 85 days by more than 80 artisans. It was developed with stylist Eka Lakhani, continuing her long creative association with Johar and Malhotra.
Speaking about his bond with Manish Malhotra, Karan further added, “With Manish, there’s no translation needed. We’ve worked together for so long that there’s an instinct there. I knew if I was doing this, it had to be with him.”
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