Camp? Couture? Chaos? Met Gala 2025 Recap!

[00:00:08] So I want to tell our viewers and our listening audience that Kiran and I are dressed in these suits today, not because we were at a wake or a morning. But today we thought we will do a podcast on the Met Gala, which this year celebrated black dandyism. So Kiran, I think we should tell them about the concept. We said, you know, we're always doing track pants and just throw anything on and come for this podcast.

[00:00:37] So we thought maybe this time we should wear something that sort of is a hat tip to the theme of this year. Also, because in the previous years, we couldn't have shown up in a ball gown. So we decided to do this super fine tailoring black dandy style. And as you know, black people throughout the history of America have dressed a certain way. It's an act of resistance. Kiran, do you want to add to that? It is an act of resistance.

[00:01:07] It was an act of resistance primarily because the black African Americans, the slaves, were not allowed to wear fine clothing. They had to wear something called Negro cloth, which was coarse material. It was not very comfortable.

[00:01:23] But to get respect and dignity when they fled across the line that divided the North from the South after all that, the war happened to free the Civil War, to free them and to make them free men, to gain the respect of the whites. They had to dress like the whites, but they had to dress sharper and more noticeable. And they brought in their own personal style. And that's black dandyism is a style of its own because it's suits, very sharp tailoring and it is flamboyant.

[00:01:52] It is not dressing to blend in. It's dressing to stand out. To make a statement. Absolutely. And the theme came from Monica Miller's book called Slaves to Fashion, which plays into the slavery and then into the fashion and how fashion was an act of making a statement of claiming their identity and an act of resistance. And so the theme this year, I think Kiran, you know, everybody was discussing the looks and what worked and what didn't work.

[00:02:21] I thought if I had to generalize it, I would say that black people did it the best. Absolutely. Okay. Absolutely. Followed closely by my beloved Diljeet Dhusanj. He won the Met Gala. I'm sorry, Shah Rukh Khan, I love you to pieces, but Diljeet won this round. Diljeet ne Diljeet liya.

[00:02:43] The way he carried it, he took that theme of sharp tailored dressing, cultural identity and he appropriated it. He did not. Brown dandyism. Yeah, he's brown dandyism, the original dandy from Punjab, the Maharaj of Patiala. Patiala. He dressed as down to the jewelry that he wouldn't get the original jewelry. Yeah, Kantia refused to give it. And some YouTuber were it a few years ago.

[00:03:10] YouTube influencer who does style and fashion. Kantia gave it to her. Again, this is white supremacy and white privilege. And this guy was turned down. But he did it beautifully. I think some Gulecha jewelers. Gulecha jewelers. And he did it with such grace. My God, the way when he was walking down. Oh, just took my breath away. He was looking fantastic. He won the Met Gala for me. At least. I can't think of anybody else. Not because I'm biased towards him. No, no, no. But I think he won it this year. For sure.

[00:03:40] You know, the thing is, no, Kiran, to be fair, I think we as Indians feel he really did make a statement. I can't necessarily say he won it. There were enough people who did a great job of, you know, presenting it. Some of the men especially. There was... What was the outfit? Lewis Hamilton, I thought, looked amazing. And all the black women did a great job of it. I thought that National Jiju, Nick Jonas, did a really good job of it. Both him and Priyanka looked fantastic. Yeah, she looked good too.

[00:04:10] You know, I saw some people saying, oh, it's underwhelming what she's wearing. But see, she was sticking to the theme. Sharp tailoring. Sharp tailoring. And how glorious she looked. Yeah, sharp tailoring. And what was it? Together the two of them, the Bulgari emerald. The size of that. I know. I mean, my Nama eyes are attuned to big emeralds. I've seen some big weddings online. So, I love emeralds. And I think she has such sass and style. And then there was this photo of him fixing her trail. Oh, God. Those are goals.

[00:04:40] Those are goals. Those are goals. Men, please fix your wife's trail. Yeah. Wherever. And we had Diljeet. We had Shah Rukh. We had a huge contingent from India this year. Yeah, we did. We had Natasha Poonawala. We had Mona Patel. Who is in India. Oh, God. Mona Patel was the next one. You know, yesterday, Kirin, last night at one midnight, I was just downloading some photos for the sake of a podcast.

[00:05:07] And then I did a whole bio search on Mona Patel. Because I just find her so fascinating. You know, she went to study in the US. MIT. Got to homesick. Oh, oh. First, she went to New Jersey to Rogers University. She got homesick and she came back to India. Okay. Then she did finish her undergrad in Baroda. She's from Baroda. Then she went to do, went to MIT. But it's said that she's been to Stanford also, MIT also, Harvard also. So I don't know how qualified she is because she's also very young. She's 1995 born. I have a full bio.

[00:05:37] She's also married to a very good looking man who is a radiologist. And now she's started, they've started a chain of radiology clinics. Okay. And what I loved about her was, A, I watched a video with Tom Brown where she's not putting on an accent. She's speaking exactly as a normal person who's grown up in India with an Indian accent would speak. And I think she took my breath away last year. Absolutely. But this, between the two looks, this is more like, I loved her clothes.

[00:06:06] I'd love to own them one day. So she basically runs a company of, she's a philanthropist also and a serial entrepreneur. And she runs a non-profit organization called Couture for Cause. So she wears all these expensive clothes. And most of the clothes that she buys and wears, she auctions them. And then that is the money she uses for funding and helping on women entrepreneurs and for, towards the education of girls.

[00:06:36] How wonderful. Actually, I loved her outfit last year as well. It was so innovative. I think it was so different with those butterflies. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Opening and closing. And this time too with the robotic dog. Hector, Hector. Hector, the robotic dog. And with his diamond leash. Hector is apparently Tom Brown's dog. Because it's also that he has a bag like that, right? Lovely. Too good. Too sharp. And what was that spine, the tech spine at the back of her dress? Yeah, that's also by another designer, an accessory designer. Oh my God.

[00:07:05] She was amazing. Okay. I really admire Mona Patel for what she's done, coming out of nowhere, being a complete unknown to us and making her mark at the Met Gala twice in a row with wonderful outfits. I think it's amazing. Yeah, she's not just some socialite who has access to a lot of money and some, you know, paper philanthropist for the sake of saying you do philanthropy. She's actually a lot of things. Yeah. She was fantastic.

[00:07:33] I also really like what Manish Malhotra wore. I think Manish has done a great job. Firstly, he really stuck to the theme. There's this other woman whose clothes he designed. Coco Jones. Coco Jones. I love what Manish did with Coco Jones as well. It was exquisite. I saw a YouTuber say that this should have been part of the exhibit. I think, yeah, the thing is all the fundraising that happens from this goes towards the costume department at the Met Museum. And this was, of course, started by Anna Ventura.

[00:08:02] But that is a museum piece. That's a museum piece. And everything is hand. Hand done. How many hours? Fantastic. Wonderful work. I mean, Manish, I have to say this. Manish has really upped his game and how? Right? You look at his Western couture pieces. Now and then I see them as celebrities, international celebrities. And I'm like, oh my God. Now compare that. And maybe you shouldn't compare. GQ Panther is talented. What's his name? Gaurav Gupta.

[00:08:32] But he could have really come up with something other than just the same corset. This is the third time we've seen it in public. Because Kiara Advain is a very pretty girl. She's a very pretty girl. And that kind of a look has been done before. I saw something similar on Aishwarya at Cannes some years ago. Kiran first, Shapirelli came out with these metallic corsets. Corsets. Okay. And then, okay, designers do that. They sort of add their own creativity and interpretation to that. But now this metallic corset, metallic bustier look is too done. Okay.

[00:09:02] That's true. And opportunity wasted it. It's a different thing. She was a lovely girl and she carried it off beautifully. She's very pretty. And she carried it with a lot of grace. But, um. Yeah. It was an opportunity missed. It was. And other big. But Shah Rukh Khan. Opportunity missed. We're talking about that. Like serious opportunity missed. Like what was that Jadugr PC Sarkar without his top hat? He was giving Johnny Depp from Willy Wonka. Yeah. Without the top hat. And what was that K? You know his jewelry.

[00:09:32] Sabya does the most exquisite jewelry pieces. I don't know why. Shah Rukh was wearing something that looked like it was from Claire's. Yes. It was Kolaba Causeway Kamal. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. Why? Why? And Shah Rukh, being Shah Rukh carried it off beautifully. Shah Rukh can carry anything off. Anything off. But there's no excuse for him to have messed it up. I just feel that he could have just dressed so much better. Manish Malhotra was dressed better than Shah Rukh Khan. Manish was, Manish looked phenomenal. He was looking sharp. The thing was. Sharp and he stuck to the theme.

[00:10:02] This was not sharp. This was cluttered. This was messy. This was. I didn't mind the clutter. It was too basic. Haan. Maybe the defenses that Shah Rukh gave him, the brief that I will wear a black suit. So you can do so much. You can do a black suit in velvets with work on it. So much you can do. Manish's outfit had so much work on it. Yeah. And it was very sharply done. Those shoulders. Even if he doesn't want to. Even the jewelry could have been better or something. Or a headgear or something. I don't know.

[00:10:28] I think I've seen Shah Rukh wear better jewelry in his personal appearance. What was that K? K is for Khan or for King Khan or what? For both again. Kiran. For Kiran. Let me live with that moment for a while. Okay. But. I mean, you know, you don't take a man like Shah Rukh and waste it. That's what it is. Yeah. I think that there was too much going on with Sabya. Because I liked his quilted coat, cape, whatever that was.

[00:10:56] And I think that he could have lost that. Fez. The fez with the feathers on it. Yeah. And because on his face, there were the glasses. There was a fez. There was his beard. There was a choker. He's the king of maximalism. I think he took it really seriously. Yeah, because neck down, he was basic. But what was that clutter? I just think Sabya Saatchi is such a gifted, talented man.

[00:11:25] He has put Indian fashion in a big way in. Across the world. And especially in Manhattan, because I mean, that's where a lot of fashion. He's an Indian designer who's found his place at Bergdorf Goodman. And now he has his own store. Right. In Manhattan. So I just think that for someone as talented as him, maybe he didn't put too much thought into it. Which was a big miss because this was a Met Gala. Yeah. This was a Met Gala.

[00:11:54] And he had such an opportunity with Shah Rukh. But those two women, I wanted to whack them. Who called him Wasabi or Sabi? Wasabi. Yes. But I really loved the way he sort of educated them about who Shah Rukh Khan is. You know, I guess they didn't know who Shah Rukh Khan was. They had not done that. And they were sounding quite stupid and vapid. And then he started telling them who Shah Rukh Khan was. It was just all very embarrassing. Like, Shah Rukh Khan doesn't need an introduction, you stupid girls.

[00:12:23] Don't you do your homework? Who were they, by the way? I don't even remember their names. They were dressed sharply though. And then they called Sabya Sabi or Wasabi. Wasabi. Poor man. It was just not his day. Okay. What was Hayley Bieber wearing? I don't even remember. Like, three years ago, Zara Fashion had those tailored blazers that you could just wear like a blazer dress. Or maybe five years ago. She was wearing just a blazer dress. Don't come to the Met Gala if you can't be bothered to dress up.

[00:12:53] Okay, the tailored dress, fine. There was somebody who wore an off-the-rack suit. I forget who it was. But he was really trashed by the fashion police. Pharrell is a men's creative director at LV, right? So, he also dressed up Doshi. Who was in LV checks and in LV thing, shorts. And that was so chic. But he forgot to dress himself. I think sometimes this is what's happening. Sometimes designers don't remember to dress themselves up. Or they couldn't be bothered. Or they're too tired. They're fatigued by them. Yeah, they're tired.

[00:13:23] But who were those girls who were dressed only in blazers and walked around like they'd forgotten their trousers? I said that only. That same person? Another girl who, Lisa. Oh my God, that was awful. Lisa wore like something that looked like a bodysuit only. And on the crotch of the bodysuit, there were images of Rosa Parks. That was her homage to Rosa Parks. By having a picture on the crotch.

[00:13:52] Why that specific location? We can look at it now. What was the rationale behind that location? It was so stupid. Because there was no other fabric left. Well, listen, Diana Ross was fantastic. She was lovely. Look at that cape. What a cape and what a queen. I know. She still has it. I think everybody stopped and gave her ways. And Daya stopped for her. Whoever was waiting on that lovely blue and daffodil covered carpet gave her way. Yeah. Which is made in Kerala. Yeah. 63,000 feet of it. Was it?

[00:14:22] Yeah. They ordered it in September. Indians are so excited that our carpet went to them for the Met Gala. Shakira, what was she thinking? She looked like a Baskin Robbins bubblegum ice cream tub. You know, there were some guests who were going to some other gala. Yeah. Because they really forgot to stick to the theme of the Met. Halle Berry. They're just wearing anything. We look at Halle Berry. Yeah. Halle Berry and... Very unfortunate. Yeah. Is she pregnant? I don't know.

[00:14:49] But Rihanna apparently announced her pregnancy at the Met Gala. Appeared to be pregnant says the headline. How do you... With such a huge bump, how do you say appeared to be pregnant? Yeah. It could just be a bad bloat. Yeah. So much gas. Too much gas. You know, people have given it. You have given it. You have given it. You have given it. Personal emissions. Personal emissions. So we had two pregnancies. Was it Rihanna and Kiara? Or did we have more? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Those two.

[00:15:17] Kendall Jenner, who I think is really, really one of the prettiest Kardashians. She looked like she needed a Spritzer bottle in her hand. And a nameplate here. Badge here. Because she looked like she works at Saks. You walk in and people... She looked like a sales girl. From Bergdorf or Saks or something. You saw it was very sharply tailored. It was this grey colour that you're wearing. But it was really... There was nothing red carpet about it. At all.

[00:15:43] And even her sister looked like she was wearing upholstery fabric attached to a corset. Kylie Jenner. Oh. That's a pity. I think there are some people who put so much short into their outfits. And some who just sort of picture off the... It's a theatre. It's a theatrical experience. You know. Kim Kardashian, of course, will never miss an opportunity to look cheap. So, I know my children will cancel me for this. At least my older child. But Kim looked like she was going in for role play.

[00:16:12] In this leather, semi-burlesque outfit. What was she doing? Can you please explain to me Natasha Poonawala's neckpiece? Was it Victorian cosplay? Was it the coat gesture? What was that neckpiece about? I didn't understand... Okay. I didn't understand the entire ensemble. I thought the gara work repurposed. There were two gara saree that were repurposed. And it was tailored beautifully. I didn't understand... I thought maybe this...

[00:16:42] She is channeling someone who's dressed like that. from the entire black dandyism... Okay. ...aesthetic. I think Natasha Poonawala looked stunning in that outfit. I think it was sharply tailored. And she did make a statement. Did she stick to the theme? Perhaps no. Yeah. But she made an impression. It was very dramatic, I thought. It was dramatic. It was sharp. I...

[00:17:11] There were two gara saris repurposed. And heartbreaks. But... Did she... Subvert the theme like Diljeet did? No. No. Because she has taken... Fine. She's not done black dandyism. Maybe she's done wonderful Parsi ladies of your... Parsi dandyism? Parsi dandyism. I don't know. That was not tailored. The gara was never tailored. It was just a drape. But that's, I guess, inspired. See, I think her clothes were okay. They could have been dandy. Because they're sharply tailored.

[00:17:41] I think the neck thing is where... Everything went for a toss. Yeah. Completely. But she always pushes the boundaries, I think, with what she wears. She does. So perhaps this was it, which is fine. I think that's... She's her own muse. She enjoys it. She likes being dramatic. She likes making a statement. She has fun with it. She has fun with it, yeah. Well, in all honesty, I'm saying this. I thought Isha looked nice. She looked nice. She looked lovely. I think Isha Ambani looked good. I think that Anamika Khanna did a great job with her clothes.

[00:18:09] And I think Anayita did a great job with the styling and everything. It was all... I thought she really pulled off that look. She really did. She was looking nice. I think she stuck to the theme, most importantly. Huh. And the jewelry was like... Had your eyes out on stocks. And so sweetly, she was telling somebody, this is my mother's. And this is my mother's. And this is my mother's. And she talked to my husband and say that, give my children a chance to say that one day. One day. Absolutely. This is my mother's. This is my mother's.

[00:18:39] I'd love if my kids could say that. Okay. There are some other people we need to talk about. Who is that guy with the... Sabrina Carpenter. Sabrina Carpenter, who looked like she was a cards dealer at a casino. What was its suit? It was a swimsuit passing off as a suit. It was sharply tailored. That makes it okay. I love what Damson Idris did.

[00:19:04] He came in, you know, his racing car, custom made, Tommy Hilfiger racing suit. And then it just got ripped off. And inside it, he was wearing a really tailored suit. How cool. He was wearing like a proper tuxedo inside with jewelry. And outside, he was wearing this racing suit designed by Tommy Hilfiger. Two men came, ripped it off. And... Voila. Voila. I thought that was really cool. And what about that guy who showed up at the piano? On his back? Who was that? Who was that? I mean, it was like, you know, one of those... That was really vaco.

[00:19:34] That was crazy. It just reminded me of these four fellows in Pahads. You go, you know, these porters tie everything to their backs and go up. What are they called? Pittus. I said, Pittu, kaase aangia bhai? Call man domingo. I think Janelle Monnet was really good. And the Tom Brown with the monocle clock here. Nice. Yeah, that was really sharp. I loved all the women with the little kiss curls on their foreheads. Yeah. I want to start dressing like that now. Kiran, I really liked how bad bunny turned up. It was very chic. Very chic.

[00:20:03] Very nice. I love the gloves. But I'm wondering, what was there in that bag? It was stuffed. Was there money inside? Did you know about demonetization? What was happening? I think he was carrying his after party clothes in it. Possibly. Possibly. Doja Cat, who came in that, you know, that animal printed thing, looked like a love child of a burlesque showgirl and a tiger. Yeah. But listen, there was that girl who was in the Burberry stole the show.

[00:20:31] I think Cardi B and Jodie Turner Smith were both dressed by Burberry. Burberry. And they really stole the show. Oh my God. Uh huh. Yes. Cardi B. They were, I think they were two of the best dressed as far as the theme goes on the red carpet. Anne Hathaway was wearing this lovely shirt with a shiny skirt. You know, people in Bombay dress like that for dinner parties. Yeah. But she's done, she's gone to some very good doctor for her face. She's suddenly looking really nice.

[00:21:00] Maybe she was wearing a new face for the Metcala. That was the thing. That was sharply tailored. That was sharply tailored. And she's on the main one. That was a good choice. It was a natural, but it was a more of a candle. But the next is to be aENCE. We're at the next is to be a close one shot.