Karan Johar makes Met Gala debut in Manish Malhotra outfit inspired by Raja Ravi Varma's art, says 'I started as a fashion designer and...' | WATCH

Filmmaker Karan Johar made his Met Gala debut in a bespoke outfit by friend and celebrated designer Manish Malhotra that draws inspiration from the art works of renowned Indian painter, Raja Ravi Varma.

The outfit, 'Framed in Eternity', features Johar in a power-shouldered vintage jacket over hand-painted cape-approximately six feet in length. It took 80 plus artisans some 85 days to create the piece that has been painted by hand.

Sharing a post on Instagram, the filmmaker wrote- "From loving cinema and costume as a wide-eyed dreamer to standing on the steps of THE Met Gala…life really does come full circle in the most unexpected ways. This moment wasn’t just about fashion for me. It was about storytelling. About taking the legacy of Raja Ravi Varma and letting it live again…"

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Johar added, "this time, not on canvas, but in motion. To representing India and our culture, our art and our storytelling on the global ‘steps’.

Thirty years of friendship and collaboration with Manish Malhotra and still creating firsts together - so grateful to you and your team for this core memory."

Johar, 53, chose a multi-gemstone necklace and rings from his jewellery brand Tyaani to complete the look.

This year the theme of Met Gala is "Costume Art" with the dress code being called "Fashion is Art". The annual event in New York, considered one of the biggest nights in the world of fashion, is co-chaired by Beyonce, Venus Williams, Nicole Kidman and Anna Wintour. Johar's outfit draws its visual language directly from the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, including the Lady with the Peach, Hamsa Damayanti, Kadambari, Arjuna and Subhadra, and There Comes Papa.

Decoding the look

THE LOOK AT A GLANCE

Designer Manish Malhotra Couture

Concept Framed in Eternity - inspired by the works of Raja Ravi Varma

Silhouette Power-shouldered vintage jacket over hand-painted cape, approximately six feet

in length

Key Technique Entirely freehand painted - no print or digital intervention. Embroidery treated with acrylic, oil, and varnish finishes to emulate the luminosity of painting.

Scale 86 days in making · 5,600 hours · 80+ karigars · Ateliers in Mumbai and Noida

Construction Vintage zardozi embroidery on rubberised bases for sculptural, three-dimensional relief. Velvet drapes and sari constructions within the composition mimic the realism of Varma's painted fabrics

3D Elements Sculptural pillars, lotuses, and swans emerge from the surface, creating multiple visual planes

Paintings Featured Lady with a Lemon (centrepiece) · Hamsa Damayanti · Kadambari · Arjuna and

Subhadra · There Comes Papa · amongst others

"I didn’t want to arrive here trying to explain India. I wanted to arrive feeling like myself and that automatically brings everything I come from with it," the filmmaker shared in a statement.

Johar said he has always been a fan of Raja Ravi Varma's paintings.

"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." According to Johar, Met Gala felt like the right place to pay his tribute to the iconic Indian painter.

"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." One of India's most celebrated names in filmmaking with titles such as "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham", "My Name is Khan" and "Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani", Johar has become the first director to represent India at the event that has seen the presence of celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in the past.

The Dharma Productions head most recently produced Neeraj Ghaywan's "Homebound" with co-owner Adar Poonawalla. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2025.

Johar's Met Gala look was developed with stylist Eka Lakhani in collaboration with Malhotra, who has often dressed the filmmaker and his many stars in films and outside of it.

“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,” Johar said.

With added inputs from agencies