Is India Finally Winning On Its Global Fashion Vision?

The data certainly supports it — and quite strongly. This isn’t tokenism. This is traction. Fashion’s front row is no longer Euro-American turf.

Photo: Actress Alia Bhatt in Schiaparelli at Cannes Film Festival 2025

The West has long “borrowed” from India’s fashion archives — often without context. Those viral tie-dye trends that fuel every Coachella collection? They're nothing but renditions of India’s bandhani and leheriya.

This year, India didn’t just take back control of its fashion — it monetized it.

Last month, on fashion’s biggest red carpets — where image is currency — Indian names drove the conversation. Not as an afterthought. Not as a token nod to diversity. But as the centre of gravity.

Cannes 2025: Alia Bhatt, Gucci, and the Italian Sari

Let’s start at the French Riviera. Indian actress Alia Bhatt ranked as the third most influential media driver at the festival, generating a staggering $5.5 million in Earned Media Value (EMV). Partnering with two of the world’s biggest brands — L’Oréal and Gucci — Bhatt wore a Schiaparelli gown on Day 1, and on Day 2, she made global headlines in Gucci’s first-ever couture sari.

Well, Gucci called it a “gown,” sparking subtle murmurs of cultural erasure. Why not call it what it is — a sari, lehenga or even both? Perhaps because the term sari or lehenga still feels too foreign for high fashion's Euro-centric vocabulary. But anyone with even a passing knowledge of India’s sartorial history could recognize the unmistakable pallu or dupatta. This is a moment of cultural appropriation — with a twist of irony.

Guess which brand topped Cannes 2025 in EMV?

Gucci, with an eye-watering $12.6 million — driven significantly by the presence of Alia Bhatt. Not an Italian heiress. Not a Parisian muse. But an Indian actress, who single-handedly catapulted the Italian house reach its Cannes peak. Is it still cultural inspiration, or has the muse become the maker of momentum?

Source: Lefty's Top Cannes Influencers and Brands of 2025

Met Gala 2025: India Took the Theme & Then Took Over

Now hop across the Atlantic to the steps of the Met. This year's theme may have been “Tailored for You,” but time clearly belongs to India. Kiara Advani, in a custom Gaurav Gupta couture titled 'Bravehearts', topped the key voice chart at the Met Gala with an EMV of $15.3 million and an engagement rate of 3.5% — the highest.

Desiger Gaurav Gupta? His brand ranked third among the top-performing fashion houses at the gala, right after Louis Vuitton and Chanel, with an EMV of $17.2 million. That’s Indian couture, not as a footnote — but as the headline.

Source: Lefty's The Top Fashion Brands at the 2025 Met Gala

And if that wasn’t enough to send the message home, Diljit Dosanjh did the rest. Dressed in a sherwani designed by Prabal Gurung, adorned with a sweeping cape embroidered with the map of Punjab and a bejewelled kirpan, Dosanjh won Vogue’s global readers’ choice — beating out 306 other A-listers. You read that right: the readers chose Punjab over Prada. Kirpan over Cartier. This wasn’t just a red carpet win — it was a cultural mic drop.

The Quiet Revolution

What we’re witnessing isn’t a sudden spike in Indian fashion. It’s the slow burn of a legacy resurgence.

If the West is serious about inclusion, it must begin with recognition — not just of faces, but of forms, fabrics, and history.

A sari is not a reinterpretation of a gown. A sherwani is not a “long jacket.” And Indian designers are not “emerging.” They are here. Bold, brilliant, and bankable.