These Indians pulled out all the stops to wear their heritage on their sleeve at the 2025 Met Gala

Each year, the Met Gala red carpet serves as a showcase for creative audacity—a theme-based visual thesis that cements fashion’s relationship with history, identity, and personal expression. This time, as the Gala turned its lens toward Black Dandyism—a cultural and stylistic movement born of self-assertion, rebellion, and dignity—the red carpet welcomed interpretations from across the globe. From India, two attendees—Diljit Dosanjh and Natasha Poonawalla—did more than just dress up. They showed up with India stitched into every seam, fold, and jewel.

In a year when the Met asked attendees to consider tailoring—of clothes, identity, and memory—Dosanjh and Poonawalla walked with intention. From Punjabi princely courts to Parsi ballrooms, they gave the red carpet something it doesn’t often see: heritage, not as costume but as couture. And that, in itself, is the kind of fine tailoring that truly matters.

Diljit Dosanjh: Sikh Dandyism in Full Regal Force

With a poise that needed no preamble, Diljit Dosanjh became the embodiment of Sikh sartorial royalty. Walking the carpet in a custom Prabal Gurung look styled by Abhilasha Devnani, Dosanjh, in his fashion-forward style and in the truest sense, redefined the theme. Dressed in an ivory-gold sherwani with a traditional tehmat and a sweeping cape, he turned the red carpet into a historical tableau. The cape bore an embroidered map of Punjab featuring the Punjabi alphabet—Gurmukhi—in it.

Instead of the classic dandy cane, he held a bejewelled lion-headed kirpan—an emblem of Sikh pride and valour reimagined as an heirloom accessory. His turban was feathered and ornamented with traditional embellishments, and his necklace—a layered diamond piece by Golecha’s Jewels that paid homage to Maharaja Bhupinder Singh’s legendary Patiala necklace by Cartier—echoed opulence. 

In an interview, Dosanjh called it “carrying your identity with pride”— a statement that reflected in every detail of his ensemble. Where Black Dandyism challenges monolithic expressions of masculinity through flamboyance and finesse, Dosanjh translated that ethos into the lexicon of Punjab’s royal courts. The result? An India-first visual—a portrait of what contemporary desi elegance can look like when it meets global fashion codes.

Natasha Poonawalla: A Parsi Story, Rewritten in Couture

Natasha Poonawalla has long known how to wield fashion as both armour and art, and for the 2025 Met Gala, she brought something far more intimate to the table—her Parsi ancestry. Wearing a bespoke look by Manish Malhotra, styled by Anaita Shroff Adajania, she stepped onto the carpet as a maximalist with a mission.

Her sculpted fishtail skirt was fashioned from vintage Parsi gara saris, including one century-old heirloom, which told the tale of women who dressed defiantly during colonial rule. The corset-cummerbund, French lace bralette, and structured gara jacket reflected the Victorian influence that Parsi women so uniquely incorporated into their wardrobes during the British Raj. But it wasn’t just mimicry, it was a reassertion.

The sculptural cravat, the Chanel pearl-trimmed minaudière, and the drama of the silhouette echoed the extravagance of Black Dandyism, yet were innately rooted in Parsi matriarchal glam. Even the faint outline of a pagoda silhouette hinted at the Parsi community’s long-standing trade with the Far East.

Poonawalla’s look wasn’t just maximalism, it was memory work. A love letter to her lineage, draped in lace, Gara, and history.

 

Lead image: Getty Images

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