The carpet at the Met Gala 2025

Every year, the Met Gala’s carpet goes through its iterations, metamorphosing each time with a new theme. In 2023, one saw a stunning off-white fabric, to be a canvas for the theme of the year: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. In 2025, the red carpet took on a blue hue, dotted with stunning dainty yellow and white daffodils, at the star-spangled event — all so that celebrities could look their dandiest to accommodate the theme: Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.

Just like Shah Rukh Khan, who made his debut in an all-black ensemble by designer Sabyasachi, and musician Diljit Dosanjh enthralled in a regal Maharaja-themed outfit; the carpet, too ended up having its moment. 

Shah Rukh Khan at 2025 Met Gala

Woven by Extraweave, the parent company of Neytt Homes from Kerala, it took 480 people to work on the carpet for over 90 days to meet the Met Gala standards. But this is not new to them. The company had its first Gala outing in 2022. It wove the carpet the following year too.

For the employees of the luxury home furnishings brand based in Cherthala, Alappuzha, it is a moment of pride, says Sivan Santhosh, director, Extraweave, the parent company; and CEO of Neytt. “A lot of care and effort have gone into the carpet. The entire team, across departments, worked together to create this beautiful piece of art,” he says.

While it was hand-painted by artists in New York, the white base carpet was sent by Neytt in 57 rolls (of four metres x 30metres). Covering an area of 6,840 square metres, the wall-to-wall carpet was woven from natural sisal fibre imported from Madagascar. 

The
| Photo Credit:
Evan Agostini

Known to be the longest, finest, and whitest of fibres, the artisans at Extraweave, had to sort the fibre by hand to avoid shade variations. “Even a slightly off-coloured thread can show up as a shade variation. We did multiple quality checks to ensure the colour was uniform,” says Sivan. “The team covered every single detail. The boucle weave (a type of flat weave) was done in a specialised loom. For us, it feels like more than just a carpet. It is a unique confluence of art, fashion and culture,” Sivan adds.

Neytt draws from its legacy in the carpeting space. This company was started by Sivan’s grandfather K Velayudhan, who set up Travancore Mats and Matting company in 1917. The brand grew over the years, exporting rugs and carpets to places across the world. Sivan’s father Santhosh Velayudhan launched Extraweave Pvt. Ltd. two decades ago, taking the business a notch higher with imported machinery and expanding the company’s horizons. 

Neytt, founded by Sivan along with Nimisha Srinivas, works towards creating sustainable rugs and carpets using silk, sisal, seagrass, water hyacinth, lyocell, bamboo silk, linen, and recycled PET. The company also works towards empowering women from the region; over 40% of Neytt’s workforce is women, including in leadership roles.

“We have been working closely with the Met Gala team for three years now and we are proud that the carpet we create is a canvas for the iconic event,” says Sivan.

While one could think that the world of Bollywood is filled with glitz and glamor, instances where Bollywood celebs have experienced a full spectrum of emotions that occasionally spill out into the public eye, show that even the biggest stars are human after all. These moments, though sometimes fleeting and unexpected, offer a glimpse behind the carefully constructed facades, revealing the raw vulnerability and genuine feelings of these celebrated personalities. From moments of overwhelming joy and gratitude to expressions of profound sorrow and empathy, these public breakdowns serve as a poignant reminder of the intense pressures and deep connections that exist within the Hindi film industry.

The artists at work
| Photo Credit: special arrangement

Echoes of the Coromandel, an art show currently exhibited at DakshinaChitra Museum, Chennai, takes viewers on a voyage along the south-eastern coast of India, previously a thriving maritime connection to Southeast Asia. Developed by a team of ten interns working through the museum’s year-long Dak Chola Internship, the show interweaves research and design to bring a lesser-known aspect of maritime history to the fore.

“Trade narratives often focus on the West coming to India,” says Mugdha Chavan, one of the interns, adding, “but for Southeast Asia, we were the West. There was an entire cultural and commercial exchange happening in that direction, and we wanted to highlight this lesser-told story.”

The group was divided into two teams — research and design. While the researchers traced routes, cultures, and commodities, the design team brought them to life in visual form. Most of the pieces on display, from replica coins and pottery to navigational charts, were crafted by hand. Inscriptions were carved with the help of the museum’s in-house artisan.

Artists setting up the exhibit
| Photo Credit:
special arrangement

Divided into three segments: The Beginning, The Peak, and The Echoes, the exhibition thematically maps this trans-oceanic connection. The first section presents archaeological and literary evidence, including Sangam verses that mention ports, and commodities that were traded.

The next section explores traditional navigation techniques that used finger-measurement techniques and the alignment of stars to navigate. A documentary shot by the interns at Kasimedu Harbour features present-day fishermen explaining traditional ship-building and sailing methods that echo those of the past.

The final section, The Echoes, illustrates the cultural footprints left behind, like temple architecture, language, and mythology that resonate across borders. The towering statue of Lord Murugan in Malaysia, leather puppets depicting The Ramayana, and similarities in temple design across Southeast Asia, all point to the cultural infusion enabled by trade.

The team behind the exhibit
| Photo Credit:
special arrangement

Echoes of the Coromandel, on view until May 18, invites visitors to discover a shared history shaped by journeys across the sea. While at DakshinaChitra, one can also check out Four Aesthetics, an art exhibition on view until May 11. This exhibition showcases diversity in art forms and various interpretations of styles, themes, and emotions.