Prabal Gurung is the Nepalese-American designer behind Alia Bhatt’s debut look at the Met Gala 2023
He also dressed up Isha Ambani for the event, and is a hot favourite among Indian celebs.
The who’s who of the fashion and film industry from around the world descended in New York on Monday for the annual Met Gala, and Alia Bhatt, who made her debut at the event, was one of them. With this year’s Met Gala being a dedication to the late legendary fashion director Karl Lagerfield (the theme was Karl Lagerfield: A Line of Beauty), the Gangubai Kathiawadi actress chose to don an exquisite bridal white ball gown by Prabal Gurung for the occasion. The gown, a custom Atelier Prabal Gurung creation, was crafted with ivory-hued silk tulle and satin face organza, featured a basque waist, and was embellished with more than 100,000 hand-beaded pearls.
The look was a nod to the iconic concept of a Chanel ‘bride’, which Lagerfield popularised by ending the finale of every Chanel Haute Couture show with an ‘it’ girl wearing a white wedding dress. Bhatt mentioned in an Instagram caption that her attire in particular was inspired by supermodel Claudia Schiffer’s 1992 Chanel bridal look, and also featured a Lagerfield-inspired custom-made crystal-embellished monogram glovelette.
She added that she wanted to wear something that was proudly made in India, and this is where Gurung’s Indian connect comes in. The Nepalese-American fashion designer is a graduate of NIFT Delhi, and is a favourite with Indian celebrities, from Deepika Padukone to Priyanka Chopra. Gurung moved to New Delhi to study fashion and began his journey in the field in the city, before making the move to New York to further his design career, where he is based now.
Alia Bhatt was not the only Indian celebrity he dressed this year at the Met, with Isha Ambani, business woman and Mukesh Ambani’s daughter, also choosing a Prabal Gurung outfit for her appearance at the gala. She wore a one-shoulder black satin sari gown draped over one shoulder that was hand-embellished with thousands of crystals and pearls, and had a floor-length silk chiffon train.
The fashion designer has dressed quite a few Indian celebrities for the star-studded gala in the past, which many believe to be one of fashion industry’s biggest annual events. At the 2018 Met Gala, Deepika Padukone turned heads in a sculpted crimson Prabal Gurung number that featured a hand-pleated train inspired by Indian embroidery. Plus, this year isn’t the first time he dressed up Isha Ambani for the Met, with the entrepreneur wearing a lavender gown by the designer for her 2019 appearance.
Lead image: Prabal Gurung/Instagram
