Stuti Kute spells out the A-Z of fashion as seen at the Radhika-Anant Ambani wedding.

The Windsors of India, as fondly referred to by the international media, the Ambanis have had their moment this year. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding and pre-wedding festivities have been making the rounds as one of the most extravagant and opulent events of the decade – the highlight of which has been the high-powered guestlist as well as the splendid haute couture of the season. 

Thanks to the fantabulous wedding, popular imagination is now bombarded with images of decadent lehengas, expensive couture hiding out under the nom de guerre of ‘grandmother’s sari’ (possibly costing more than your grandmother’s entire net worth), ritzy jewellery pieces and viral it-girl moments. After all, the wedding and pre-wedding did boast an estimated price tag of $600 million. 

All Eyes On The Bride

Weddings are a bride’s time to shine, and shine Radhika Merchant did in her gorgeous bridal trousseau spanning multiple events. The highlight of them all was her bridal look on D-Day. Designed by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla and styled by Rhea Kapoor, this fine piece of couture was the designer’s interpretation of ‘Panetar’ or the Gujarati tradition of brides wearing red and white. Taking to social media, Rhea Kapoor has described the intricate creation: “The ivory zardozi cutwork ensemble consists of a trailing ghagra layered with a second detachable trail, a 5-meter head veil and a tissue shoulder dupatta. The ghagra glitters with three borders of red, its workmanship is the finest amalgamation of naqshi, saadi and zardozi symmetrically hand-embroidered in intricate floral booties that are lavishly decorated with stones, sequins, tamba tikkis and a touch of red resham. The head veil has impossibly delicate jaali and cutwork, while the detachable trail is a zardozi marvel of 80 inches. The outfit is complete with a fully embroidered red shoulder dupatta that uplifts the silhouette with its maximal drama.” 

Her second look was a Manish Malhotra creation, featuring a sunset-red effect and real gold embroidery. Evening brought on an art inspired outfit, specifically a tribute by the Indian artist Jayasri Burman – the 12 panels of the bride’s lehenga were hand painted on Italian canvas. 

Her other significant outfits consisted of her haldi function outfit, an Anamika Khanna yellow and pastel-toned creation with a flower-lattice dupatta that grabbed more than a few eyes.

Radhika was then seen sporting a metallic gold corset top from the Alta Moda Sardegna 2024 collection of Dolce & Gabbana with a couture sari from Anamika Khanna at the reception. 

Groom Of The Moment

Anant Ambani also dazzled in an Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla ensemble on his wedding day, sporting exquisite accessories too. Among them notably was his large Heeramaneck & Son brooch, featuring a 720-carat Zambian emerald with a Cartier panther perched upon the gemstone. 

A Fashionable Fam

Mother of the groom Nita Ambani also left one and all awestruck with her stunning selections – donning a rare sari by Manish Malhotra, a custom Falguni Shane Peacock lehenga for the sangeet ceremony, and a custom Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla zardozi ghagra for the wedding.

Isha Ambani Piramal, a true fashionista, was stunning in her many outfits for the wedding festivities. Significant of which was the custom made Schiaparelli sari – the only sari designed by the fashion house ever. Her Sabyasachi ivory-white lehenga was also applauded for its glamour and beauty. And who can forget the square diamond maang tikka that took the internet by storm?! Styled by Anaita Shroff Adajania, every look was a standout! 

Shloka Akash Ambani, styled by Diya Mehta Jatia, wore a series of beautiful outfits throughout the pre-wedding festivities – but the one that caught people’s eyes was what she wore on the last day. A repurposing of her bridal lehenga, a beautiful piece of couture designed by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, who commented on the piece, “The most intricate zardozi jaali lavishly hand-embroidered with jadau and cutwork. The blouse is a bejewelled wonder. A shoulder dupatta features trellis and borders with exquisite floral motifs.”

Akash Ambani was seen sporting a Manish Malhotra custom-made classic white silk bundi jacket. Made with mulberry silk and featuring intricate resham embroidery, the jacket was complimented by an ivory silk kurta. With Mukesh Ambani too looking stellar, the Ambani men ensured that the style quotient of the family stayed top notch. 

Bring On The Bling

Of the jewels worn at the wedding, for her mangalsutra ceremony, the bride chose to wear a family heirloom: A syndicate of polki or uncut diamonds, Zambian emeralds, and center stones of emerald-cut emeralds and emerald drops. 

From Isha’s collection, the showstopper was a necklace which took three years to just gather the mammoth-sized stones – blue sapphire, emerald, diamonds, fire opal, coral, pearls, and more.

Nita Ambani was decked in emeralds, a favourite of the family. She wore popsicle-sized stone cuts (both round and pear) in her necklaces, bindi-pieces, nose ring, earrings, rings, bangles and bracelets. 

Showstopper Guests

Social media has been abuzz as celebrities – from across the globe – who made this exclusive guest list, flaunted their fabulous picks for the illustrious wedding where every event was a walk-in fashion fiesta.

Manish Malhotra was the designer of choice for international divas Kim and Khloe Kardashian. Kim’s chosen red dress  created quite a furore among netizens, but it was a stunning number nonetheless. 

Priyanka Chopra Jonas made headlines with her husband Nick Jonas, as she dazzled in a sunshine yellow Tarun Tahiliani lehenga.

Bollywood Magic

Alia Bhatt looked stunning in her Manish Malhotra sari and Deepika Padukone was a vision in red, donning Torani. Kriti Sanon’s elaborate pink lehenga, by Arpita Mehta, became her quite well, and Bollywood’s favourite duo, Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra, were beautiful in Torani and Manish Malhotra respectively.  

Of the younger stars, Janhvi Kapoor was seen looking like a million bucks in a gold lehenga by Falguni Shane Peacock. Suhana Khan, too, arrived in style in a pastel blue and pink lehenga featuring floral embroidery and delicate beadwork. Sara Ali Khan chose a beautiful, multicoloured lehenga by Iqbal Hussain, styled by Tanya Ghavri. Shanaya Kapoor looked regal in a Tarun Tahiliani lehenga. Cricketer Hardik Pandya sported a debonair look in a white ensemble by Faraz Manan. 

Dazzling Decor

The wedding, hosted at the Jio World Convention Centre, BKC, Mumbai, was the event of the century, in terms of the sheer size, scale, decor and style. Of these, the most Instagrammed has been the flower sculpture installations done by Preston Bailey (also dressed by Manish Malhotra), famous for his over-the-top floral installations and royal clientele. The larger-than-life flower installations, of which Bailey made a total of 60 to decorate the cavernous Jio World Centre, were a big hit with the attendees and an even bigger hit with those witnessing the wedding on social media. This included tigers, elephants, monkeys, snow leopards, parrots, deer, horses, giraffes, swans, and even a replica of the couple’s dogs. 

Nights To Remember

Overall, one can say that the Radhika-Anant wedding was a feast for the eyes of fashion lovers, local and international. Almost akin to New York’s Met Gala, if not more, given the sheer opulence and never-seen-before extravagance.