Every September, the Ambani driveway turns into the most iconic red carpet in Indian fashion, except of course nobody calls it that. Because everyone arrives with folded hands and kohl-smudged devotion instead of a step-and-repeat.
This year the memo was clear: put the weave first. Patola, Paithani, Banarasi, Bandhani, Kanjeevaram, the looks that landed hardest weren't the heaviest; they were the ones with a loom behind them. Here's the full darshan roll call.
The Blouse Is Doing The Heavy Lifting
This season, the saree came with a plot twist — corsets, halters and jewelled backs stealing the spotlight.
The blouse wasn't just part of the look; it was the look.
Alia Bhatt gave the saree a waistline. Her House of Masaba look paired a shifting sage-to-teal metallic drape with a gold-embroidered corset blouse, scalloped neckline, pointed front, no necklace to interrupt the line. Shoulder-grazing chandbalis, jewel-toned bangles, smoky eyes, a tiny bindi. Structure meets surrender, and both win.
Khushi Kapoor went crimson in Manish Malhotra, resham florals and vines, metallic paisley tracing the borders and pleats, a cropped halterneck blouse with a jewelled back that turned the exit as newsworthy as the entrance. The real showstopper hung at her throat: a diamond choker built around a 25-carat Zambian emerald, layered with polki.
Shanaya Kapoor leaned onto a rich purple drape adorned with gold embroidery and a corset-style sleeveless blouse with a high neck, pallu pinned forward, finished with a gold choker, matching earrings and stacked bangles.
Rasha Thadani arrived in custom crimson Manish Malhotra — a red silk lehenga dense with gold metallic embroidery, a cross-wrap embellished blouse, a sheer matching dupatta. Styled by Niharika Aggarwal with soft bangs and barely-there makeup, it was debutante energy with veteran restraint.
The Heirloom Brigade: When The Textile Is The Headline
This Ganpati, heritage weaves took centre stage, proving that the textile itself can be the statement.
From Patola to Paithani, celebrities let age-old craftsmanship do the talking.
Radhika Merchant wore hers to dance in, a handwoven jewel-pink Kanjeevaram from Manish Malhotra, reengineered as a pre-stitched pleated skirt so the zari, marodi and zardozi could open out mid-performance during her classical tribute to Ganpati. Couture with choreography built in.
Janhvi Kapoor opened the evening in a double-Ikat Patan Patola by Nidhi Tambi Kejriwal, worked with Ek-Taar Resham and aabla tiki. Patola is fashion's slowest flex , with months of dyeing threads before a single pick is thrown. And Janhvi let it do the talking, styling it with a front-draped pallu, a maang tikka, stacked bangles and oversized rings from Aren Jewellers. Styled by Meagan Concessio and Shubhra Sharma, it read Gujarati at heart, red-carpet in finish.
Kriti Sanon made the case for Bandhani as evening wear in a royal-blue Manish Malhotra drape, the tie-dye gridwork lifted with micro-sequins and zari, paired with a bead-tied backless blouse, pearls, gold bangles and a jasmine gajra.
Genelia Deshmukh went full Maharashtrian, twice. Her custom Paithani carried wide geometric bands in yellow and pink with a lotus-motif pallu, the padar doing what the padar has always done, holding the story. Layers of gold, green bangles, a sleek bun pinned with white lotus, a small red bindi.
Her second look was a craft collision: a deep green Banarasi lehenga threaded with gold, thrown against a Kalamkari dupatta printed dense with reds, browns and cream. Two textile languages, one palette, zero shouting.
Colour As The Whole Concept
Bright marigold, crimson and royal blue brought a fresh energy to traditional festive dressing. The message was simple: sometimes, one unforgettable colour is all the drama you need
Ananya Panday in Arpita Mehta was the most fun in the room: marigold, top to toe, a geometric grid running through the fabric so the drape had dimension even where it was bare. The blouse carried jewel-toned mirror work; the jhumkas arrived in turquoise, cold against all that warmth. Loose waves, nude makeup, a flower tucked in. Nothing matched, everything worked.
Kareena Kapoor Khan did marigold's louder cousin — a bright yellow embroidered tunic-and-skirt set by Anamika Khanna, cut with that signature draped ease, styled by Tanya Ghavri with a long statement pearl necklace by Maya Sanghavi Jewels and Fizzy Goblet juttis. Bebo does festive the way she does everything: like she isn't trying.
The Men Kept It Quiet And Won Anyway
Festive menswear took a more understated route, leaning into ivory, indigo and tonal embroidery.
Less colour, more texture — and plenty of quiet confidence.
Vicky Kaushal wore ivory Manish Malhotra, a short Indo-Western sherwani with an asymmetric diagonal wrap, Mandarin collar flowing into an overlapping placket, and dori work climbing the chest, shoulders and sleeves in floral and vine motifs. Self-coloured geometric panelling ran the centre placket, tiny pearls scattered across the embroidery, slim ivory trousers underneath. Monochrome, but never flat.
Ranveer Singh — the man who has never met a sequin he didn't like, chose restraint. Crisp white bandhgala, matching kurta and trousers, sunglasses, a pocket square. Proof that the loudest person in the room can also be the quietest dresser in it.
Ranbir Kapoor brought colour in a deep indigo Midnight Mélange bundi set by Dolly J, the darkness lifted by pastel floral embroidery — bundi styling continuing its steady takeover of festive menswear.
The Coordinated Couple And The Matriarch
Some couples matched without actually matching, letting complementary pastels do the work. And then came Nita Ambani, whose jewellery turned heritage craftsmanship into the evening's headline.
Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra arrived in pastels that spoke to each other without twinning: her blush pink saree with a traditional choker, his ivory short kurta scattered with colourful floral embroidery over white trousers.
Nita Ambani wore an orange-and-magenta silk saree with a thick gold border and matching potli. The star was Amrapali Jewels' reimagined "Bharatam" collar, a Kerala temple-inspired masterpiece crafted by 14 karigars, layered with archival jewellery, pearls, diamonds, polki and coloured stones. She kept the rest understated with a gajra-wrapped braid and pink bindi — because when the jewellery is a museum, the rest should be a whisper.
The Festive Fashion Lessons We’re Taking From Ganpati 2026
Three things. Handloom is the new statement piece — Patola, Paithani, Banarasi and Bandhani did more work than any amount of embellishment. The blouse has become the plot twist, whether corseted, halter-necked or jewelled at the back. And menswear has found its confidence in texture over colour: ivory dori, indigo bundis, tonal embroidery.
