Alia Bhatt's 2023 Met Gala Gown: 100,000 Pearls

Alia Bhatt's Met Gala debut on May 1, 2023 was built around one number: more than 100,000 pearls, embroidered by hand in India. The gown, by Prabal Gurung, paid tribute to the night's honouree, Karl Lagerfeld. The designer, the stylist and Bhatt herself have each described how it came together.

The theme and the inspiration

The 2023 Met Gala was held in honour of Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director for Chanel, Fendi and Chloé, according to Prabal Gurung's journal. Bhatt told her Instagram followers that she had always been fascinated by the iconic Chanel brides, and that her look was inspired by Claudia Schiffer's 1992 Chanel bridal couture look.

Gurung's studio describes the gown as an ivory silk tulle and satin-faced organza ball gown with an exaggerated basque waist, embellished with hand-beaded pearls. India Today says it had a figure-hugging bodice that flowed into a voluminous ball skirt with a floor-sweeping train and a plunging neckline.

Made in two countries

In his Instagram caption, quoted by NDTV, Gurung wrote that more than 100,000 pearls were hand-embroidered in India on satin-faced organza from Europe, and that the whole piece was made at Atelier Prabal Gurung in New York. He called it "a well-travelled dress". Bhatt wrote that she wanted something authentic and "proudly made in India", and credited the embroidery to Gurung's team.

Gurung said they had talked about a Met moment for a long time and that Bhatt had always been wise enough to say "let's wait". He said they met at Karan Johar's 40th birthday in Mumbai, and called her a friend as well as a performer.

The accessories

Vogue noted that Bhatt wore a single fingerless glove, one of Lagerfeld's favourite accessories, though he wore two. NDTV says the custom glove was crystal embellished with a monogram, and that the glove, earrings and a bow-style headpiece in her hair were made by the jewellery brand Outhouse.

News18 reports that the stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania worked with the designer Alice Cicolini and Malabar Gold and Diamonds on the ring stack, a rose-cut stone ringed by tapered, baguette and round diamonds, with a tassel of pearls. The shoes were crystal-encrusted, hand-embroidered pieces by ASA x Sko.

A first for her, not for Bollywood

NDTV points out that Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra both attended the Gala for the first time in 2017, so Bhatt was following earlier Indian actors on the carpet. The Indian Express noted in 2025 that Bhatt has walked the Gala twice, in Prabal Gurung and in Sabyasachi.

News18 quotes the stylist's post calling the gown a salute to Lagerfeld's genius, with a silhouette taken from a famous corseted couture ball gown, the final bridal look of the Fall 1992 couture show.

How it was received

Vogue's short report called the all-white outfit a fit for the night's dress code, with a dramatic sheer train and thousands of pearl beads, and said it served "pure princess bride", a recurring theme in Lagerfeld's catalogue. India Today described it as dreamy and noted her minimal makeup and sleek half-tied hair.

What we could not confirm

The pearl count, hours and design process are the designer's and the stylist's statements. We did not find independent verification of how many artisans worked on the embroidery, or what the gown cost. Vogue says "hundreds, if not thousands" of beads while the designer says more than 100,000, and we have used the designer's figure with attribution. We did not read press coverage of the event itself beyond these reports.

Sources

*Cover photo: Laura Lee Dooley, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alia_Bhatt_at_the_IIFA_Awards_2017_%281%29.jpg*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alia_Bhatt_at_the_IIFA_Awards_2017_%281%29.jpg)* (CC BY 2.0).*