Luxury fashion has perfected a paradox: It celebrates craftsmanship while depending on the invisibility of the craftspeople. At the 2026 Met Gala — where the theme invited fashion to be seen as art — this contradiction was not hidden. It was staged, illuminated, and, in one rare moment, disrupted. At this year’s event, an Indian designer did something the global fashion system rarely allows: He made labour visible.

When filmmaker Karan Johar appeared in a Raja Ravi Varma-inspired ensemble, he did more than make a debut. He translated Indian visual culture into the language of global couture. The garment functioned as a canvas, layering history, mythology, and identity into a form legible to the West’s most exclusive fashion audience.

But if Johar’s appearance expanded what could be seen as fashion, designer Manish Malhotra used his appearance to question who gets to be seen within it.

His now widely discussed “Mumbai” cape did something the global fashion system rarely permits: It named its makers. The artisans behind the garment — usually absorbed into the anonymity of luxury — were credited directly on the piece. In an........

© Indian Express