Met Gala 2025: Shah Rukh Khan, Isha Ambani and Diljit Dosanjh bring India's fashion glory to New York

In the fashion circles, the first Monday of May brings with it both excitement and anticipation. It is the day reserved for the Met Gala – officially the ultra-exclusive, invite-only fundraiser for the New York-based The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, but unofficially, the party of the year!

On Monday, 450 influential guests from across the globe and all corners of culture – fashion, sports, theatre, film — as well as business walked the Met Gala 2025 red carpet (which, incidentally, was woven in Kerala) to celebrate this year’s theme, ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ — centred around the cultural and historical examination of Black style or dandyism. It is also the theme for the spring exhibition of the Costume Institute, which will open on May 10 and run through October 26, 2025.

Like every year, it was an invite-only event even though guests are required to pay $75,000 per person, with brands purchasing tables for $350,000, with all money going towards the benefit of the Costume Institute. The total collection this year was $31 million, the highest ever.

Over the past few years, Indians have been making a splash on the red carpet, and 2025 was no different. If anything, it was better with Shah Rukh Khan making his Met Gala debut in a Sabyasachi outfit. Dressed in a floor-length, elongated black coat in superfine wool with a peak collar and wide lapels, Khan looked every bit the superstar he is. The coat was paired with a black crepe de chine silk shirt and tailored wool trousers. A pleated silk cummerbund completed the bespoke look. He carried a cane also designed by Sabyasachi with a Bengal tiger head crafted in 18k gold with tourmalines, sapphires, old mine cut and brilliant cut diamonds. Khan dressed up the outfit with a stack of necklaces, designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s take on the colonial necktie.

“The tradition of wearing neckties was inherited from the British during the colonial era, where formal dressing was a mark of elegance and refinement. Clubs in India, especially upscale ones, maintain dress codes that require formality, including neckties… In the Sabyasachi world, the necktie has been replaced with handcrafted Indian necklaces; formal for sure and richer indeed,” says a statement from the designer.

Sabyasachi says he interprets Black Dandyism as self-expression that defies societal, racial and gender norms. It is a tangible protest against the discrimination faced by those excluded from society. He provided an Indian context by reflecting on Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Taj hotels, who was denied entry to Watson’s Hotel in Bombay, an exclusive European-only establishment that allowed entry only to "Whites.” That experience led him to build the internationally renowned Taj Mahal Palace hotel as a symbol of resistance and empowerment.

Sabyasachi accompanied Khan in an ivory oversized quilted silk overcoat and sherwani, layered over a crisp white shirt and black trousers cinched with a cummerbund. A nod to Jamsetji, Mukherjee wore a velvet cap to complete the look. “The Black Dandy is an assertion of being, a powerful statement of self,” says Mukherjee.

While designer Manish Malhotra is no stranger to red carpets, having dressed up stars for the Golden Globes and Cannes, he made his debut at the Met Gala this year dressed in a velvet sherwani layered with a blazer and a floor-sweeping cape. The ensemble was hand-embroidered, and he paired it with brooches from his own high jewellery collection.

But it was Met Gala veteran, philanthropist and industrialist Natasha Poonawala in a custom Manish Malhotra outfit who turned heads. Poonawala wore a sculptural gown with vintage Parsi gara embroidery, an ode to her roots. The focal point of her ensemble was a sculpted fishtail skirt, created from two vintage Parsi gara sarees, one of which was a century-old treasure from the archives. Complementing the skirt was a corset-cummerbund paired with a vintage French lace bralette with scalloped pearls. To further add to the maximalist look was a black cape also embellished with Parsi gara embroidery. But it was the sculptural lace cravat by Atelier Biser which brought theatre to the final look.

Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh also paid a tribute to his roots in a custom white Sikh royal ensemble by New York-based designer Prabal Gurung, complete with turban and ceremonial sword in hand, along with jewellery that referenced Cartier’s famous Maharaja of Patiala necklace. Apparently, his team had requested for the necklace, but it is currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and could not be obtained. A similar necklace was then made by Golecha Jewels for his Met Gala debut. Dosanjh wore an ivory and gold sherwani, pants and a cape which had an artistic representation of Punjab as well as the Punjabi script – Gurmukhi.

Industrialist Isha Ambani , Director at Reliance Retail Ventures, who has been attending the Met Gala regularly since 2017, dressed up in an Anamika Khanna custom outfit. Incidentally, Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL) has a 60% stake in Anamika Khanna’s label AK-OK. Khanna — for whom it was her first Met Gala outing — designed a black, white and gold creation, featuring a fully embroidered waistcoat and a floor-grazing cape. The handwoven checked textile was sourced from Swadesh, a handloom store by Reliance. The outfit took over 20,000 hours to create using semi-precious stones and pearls. But it was Ambani’s diamond necklace from her mother Nita Ambani’s collection that attracted the most attention for its egg-sized diamonds.

Wrapping up the Indian contingent was Bollywood actor Kiara Advani, who appeared in a creation by couturier Gaurav Gupta. Advani — who is pregnant — wore a gold metal breastplate shaped like a heart, adorned with crystals. The outfit, called Bravehearts, also had a structured white cape, a nod to American fashion journalist and stylist André Leon Talley’s 2010 Met Gala appearance, to whom Gupta pays homage. Talley’s advocacy of emerging designers redefined fashion’s relationship with power, culture, and identity, as per Gupta. “Bravehearts is about transformation — emotional, physical, generational. In creating this piece for Kiara, we wanted to honour her motherhood and pay homage to the bold elegance of Black style,” says Gupta.

Bollywood and Hollywood actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas , another regular on the Met Gala carpet who is often trolled for her eclectic looks, played it safe in a polka dot tailored gown and matching blazer by Balmain. She matched it with a wide-brimmed black hat and gloves. But just like Isha Ambani, it was her Bvlgari emerald necklace that got all the attention. The necklace contains a 241.06-carat faceted emerald — the largest ever set by Bvlgari — surrounded by a galaxy of shimmering diamonds.