Met Gala 2025: Shahrukh Khan and Diljit Dosanjh make dandyism personal
Shah Rukh's all-black outfit and Diljit's all-ivory ensemble at the Met Gala 2025 reminded us that true dandyism comes from putting personal style first
India’s star presence at the Met Gala—officially the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Benefit, or a fancy dress competition for the super-rich to raise money for the Costume Institute—is growing with every edition.
While designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee returned to the red carpet (or a floral blue carpet, to be specific, made in India by Neytt, a Kerala-based brand) for the second time, actors Kiara Advani, Shah Rukh Khan and Diljit Dosanjh, and designer Manish Malhotra made their first-ever appearances. Last year, Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra Jonas were the only Indian actors to walk the Met Gala red carpet. Chopra Jonas was back this year in a polka-dotted Balmain suit dress and a black hat the size of a parasol, channeling old-world splendor. She finished the look with a Bulgari necklace featuring the 241-carat “Magnus Emerald", Bulgari diamond earrings and an emerald ring.
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Each interpreted this year's theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style", in their own way, celebrating the impact of Black dandyism and individualism on fashion. Late American fashion journalist André Leon Talley was the inspiration for the theme.
Kiara Advani wore a custom Gaurav Gupta gown with a gold breastplate and a cape inspired by the ones Talley was known to wear.
Sabyasachi was in a hand-quilted, oversized court jacket and sherwani in Murshidabad silk paired with a silk shirt, black quilted trousers, cummerbund, and a quirky feathered hat.
Manish Malhotra opted for an embroidered cape coat over a silk shirt and a bejewelled tie.
The two more striking looks were served by Shah Rukh Khan and Diljit Dosanjh. Online critics might be calling Khan’s all-black ensemble boring, but it screams of SRK’s personal style. He wore a floor-length wool coat with a silk shirt, wool trousers, silk cummerbund. Layers of necklaces replaced the idea of a tie, with the ‘K’ necklace and ‘SRK’ choker making a bold statement, complemented by a gold cane studded with tourmalines, sapphires and diamonds.
Whether it’s the red carpet or the airport, Khan is mostly seen in jeans, black/white T-shirts and black formal suits. “He dresses simply and we respected that," said Mukherjee, who designed the ensemble for Khan, told The New York Times, just before the Met Gala.
On the other side of the coin was Diljit Dosanjh, the actor-singer known for defying labels and representing his home state of Punjab on every stage. Much like the 2023 Coachella and Jimmy Fallon appearances, he carried his identity to the Met Gala. He wore an outfit by New York designer Prabal Gurung, which was inspired by Bhupinder Singh, the 20th century maharaja of Patiala, known for his hedonistic lifestyle, for his deep interest in fashion, and for getting Cartier to craft the famous Patiala necklace, the largest single order in the jeweller's history, in 1928.
Diljit's embroidered angrakha complete with a matching cape that had a map of Punjab and Gurmukhi alphabets embroidered on it, a bejewelled turban and a sword, showed one of the shade cards of Indian dandyism.
Critics may say Khan’s all-black and Dosanjh’s all-ivory ensembles weren’t exactly in line with this year’s theme. They were true to the theme in spirit, though: carrying one's own comfort, style and identity wherever you go. In doing so, they showed their superpower–make fashion your own. If that’s not dandyism, then what is?
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