Ahead of her red carpet appearance, L'OFFICIEL caught up with the philanthropist, businesswoman, and fashion connoisseur.

For style obsessives around the world, the Met Gala is often referred to as fashion's biggest night&mdash;and not just for the buzzy celebrity style moments or glamorous gowns. Rather, the evening brings together the biggest figures in the industry&mdash;designer, muse, and aficianado alike&mdash;to celebrate the enduring relationship between fashion and culture. This year (perhaps more than ever before thanks to the theme) the weight of the artistry in fashion came alive on the red carpet. While each attendee, designer, and stylist interpreted the dress code uniquely, the emphasis&nbsp;placed on the dressed body and its connection with the arts across the ages was palpable, resonating with fashion fans across the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Sudha Reddy&mdash;one of the most prominent global figures in fashion&mdash;has graced the iconic Met steps several times in recent years, returning each season with a look more striking than the last. This year, the philanthropist and businesswoman partnered with one of India's leading couturiers, Manish Malhotra, and renowned stylist to the stars, Mariel Haenn, to craft her look, which drew on Hyderabad's deep connection to storytelling and expressions of identity through textiles.&nbsp;
"When I started working with designer Manish Malhotra and stylist Mariel Haenn, the idea evolved very organically into The Tree of Life. It felt like the most natural way to express not just heritage, but growth, memory, and connection. It became very personal&mdash;almost like wearing a piece of where I come from," Reddy tells L'OFFICIEL.
Below, see our full conversation with Reddy ahead of the 2026 Met Gala.&nbsp;

L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: What was your vision for your look at this year's Met Gala? How did that initial idea evolve into your final ensemble as you worked with Mariel and Manish?
SUDHA REDDY: I wanted to represent India through the lens of its textile heritage, but in a way that felt personal to me. For me, this began with home. I kept coming back to Hyderabad&mdash;the textures, the stories, the sense of identity I&rsquo;ve carried with me wherever I go. India is home to an extraordinary diversity of textile traditions, each region carrying its own vocabulary of craft, and as someone from Hyderabad, it felt instinctive to spotlight a South Indian art form. That&rsquo;s how we arrived at Kalamkari. I&rsquo;ve always been fascinated by how it tells stories through fabric&mdash;it&rsquo;s almost meditative in its detail.
L&rsquo;O: Your look also utilizes craftsmanship techniques that date back over 3,000 years. From your point of view, how does the garment bring Hyderabad's cultural legacy and modern glamour together?
SR: For me, representing Hyderabad was essential. The city has a layered identity&mdash;deeply historical, yet incredibly forward-looking&mdash;and I wanted the garment to reflect that duality. The craftsmanship itself&mdash;whether it&rsquo;s zardozi, marodi, resham, and metalwork or hand embroidery is the soul of the ensemble. But the way it has been interpreted for the carpet, through a sculpted silhouette and a more architectural construction, places it firmly in a contemporary space.
The motifs also play an important role in bridging that gap. Elements like the Palapitta, Jammi Chettu, and Tangedu root the look in Telangana&rsquo;s cultural and ecological landscape, while celestial symbols like Surya and Chandra, along with the Kalpavriksha, expand that narrative into something more universal. It becomes both deeply local and globally resonant.

L&rsquo;O: What does the link between fashion, culture, and art mean to you? How is the theme reflected in your look for the evening?
SR: I&rsquo;ve grown up seeing fashion as something deeply emotional&mdash;it&rsquo;s never just been about how something looks, but what it carries. In India, especially, textiles are storytelling mediums. They hold history, rituals, and memory. In India, fashion, culture, and art have never been separate&mdash;they&rsquo;ve always existed as&nbsp;one continuum, especially through textiles. Crafts like Kalamkari are essentially narrative art forms, where every motif carries meaning. For this look, we approached the garment almost like a living canvas. &lsquo;The Tree of Life&rsquo; anchors the philosophy of interconnectedness, while each motif was chosen with intention&mdash;the Palapitta, which is the state bird of Telangana, the Jammi Chettu, which holds ceremonial significance during festivals, and the Tangedu flower, which is closely associated with regional celebrations. These are not decorative elements; they are cultural markers that root the garment in a very specific geography and identity. These are things I&rsquo;ve seen, felt, and grown up around. So the garment, in a way, becomes very intimate&mdash;it&rsquo;s not just inspired by culture, it&rsquo;s lived experience translated into couture.
L&rsquo;O: Art is at the center of this year's dress code and Costume Institute theme. Do you have any favorite pieces, artists, mediums, or movements that resonate with you?
SR: I admire works that merge craftsmanship with storytelling&mdash;whether it&rsquo;s miniature paintings, temple architecture, or even contemporary interpretations of heritage art. I&rsquo;m especially inspired by pieces that feel timeless yet continue to evolve across generations. For me, the most meaningful art isn&rsquo;t always in galleries&mdash;it&rsquo;s in the hands of artisans, in techniques that have been preserved quietly over generations. That kind of art feels very personal because it&rsquo;s connected to people, to place, and to memory. What resonates with me most is art that is created slowly, with intention, and passed down through the ages. These are not just visual expressions; they are repositories of history and identity.

L&rsquo;O: In addition to your custom Manish Malhotra look, you're wearing several gorgeous jewelry pieces from your private collection. Can you walk us through how you went about selecting these pieces to accompany the look? Do these pieces hold special meaning to you?
SR: Jewelry, for me, has always carried a meaning that goes far beyond adornment. In India, especially, it is deeply tied to tradition, faith, and continuity. Duringfestivals like Diwali, families don&rsquo;t just buy jewelry as ornamentation&mdash;they invest in it as something auspicious, something that symbolizes prosperity and legacy. Many of the pieces I own are connected to that sentiment. They are not just collected; they are acquired during meaningful moments, often as a gesture of gratitude or devotion. In many Indian households, jewelry is offered as a salutation to Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and abundance and that cultural belief has always stayed with me. So when I was selecting pieces for this look, I wasn&rsquo;t thinking in terms of decoration&mdash;I was thinking in terms of intention.
Each piece carries a sense of blessing and continuity. They felt like the right extension of the ensemble because, much like the garment itself, they are rooted in tradition, faith, and the idea of prosperity being something both spiritual and generational. Together, they complete the narrative&mdash;not just of luxury, but of meaning.

L&rsquo;O: Outside of special occasions like the Met Gala, how would you define your style?
SR: My personal style is actually quite instinctive. I don&rsquo;t follow a formula&mdash;I respond to what I feel in the moment but I do enjoy maximalism. But if there&rsquo;s one constant, it&rsquo;s that I&rsquo;m always drawn to pieces with meaning. I love when something carries a sense of history or craftsmanship. Even in my everyday wardrobe, there&rsquo;s always an element of that&mdash;something that feels connected to culture, but interpreted in a way that feels current.
L&rsquo;O: When it comes to getting ready for an event like this, what's your favorite part?
SR: It&rsquo;s definitely the process. Those early conversations, when it&rsquo;s just an idea, and you&rsquo;re trying to give it shape&mdash;that&rsquo;s the most exciting part for me. Working with Manish Malhotra and Mariel Haenn, there&rsquo;s a real exchange of ideas, and that collaboration makes it feel very personal. By the time the look is finished, it already feels like a story I&rsquo;ve lived through. Walking the carpet is special, of course&mdash;but for me, the meaning is built long before that moment.

Sudha Reddy Champions Craft, Couture, and Creativity for the 2026 Met Gala

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