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Anna Wintour’s brief said, “Fashion is art.” And most men responded by dressing like they had something to prove. Some made efforts to appear prim and proper. And many did the opposite.

A sharper lapel here, a conceptual flourish there — the usual calibration between looking correct and looking interesting. You could see the effort in the seams.

And then came the outliers who were less concerned with the exercise of interpretation.

Indian menswear didn’t approach the theme as a problem to solve. It arrived with a vocabulary already intact. And floated in royalty this year.

Because, you see, with a theme as creatively vast as this, all men living under the shadow of minimalism panic, but Indian guys run towards maximalism. In Indian menswear, especially for royals and elites, maximalism was welcomed in style.

Which is why, even at its most elaborate, Indian menswear didn’t tip over the red carpet. It held.

Karan Johar: At His Maximal Best

© Instagram/Karan Johar

Karan Johar’s Met Gala debut in a Manish Malhotra creation and Tyaani jewellery could have easily tipped into chaos. A six-foot cape, hand-painted with mythological scenes inspired by Raja Ravi Varma, layered over a sharply structured black ensemble. On paper, it reads like too many ideas competing at once.

On the carpet, it didn’t. Because the look had a spine.

The base was disciplined with precise tailoring, right proportions, a silhouette that didn’t fight the body. Which meant the cape — dense with narrative, colour and 86 days of artisanal labour — didn’t overwhelm. It sat on something stable.

Up close, the work revealed itself in fragments. Brushstroke textures translated onto fabric. Gold-thread detailing catching light without screaming for it. Months of well-directed artisan work.

Manish Malhotra: Spoke His Own Language

© Instagram/Manish Malhotra

Manish Malhotra didn’t separate the designer from the wearer. He arrived with a city on his shoulders.

At the centre was a classic Indian bandhgala, layered under an architectural cape that carried the weight of process as much as design. Over 960 hours of work, more than 50 artisans across Mumbai and Delhi.

Hand-embroidered panels, densely worked yet balanced. Tonal depth instead of colour overload. A surface that kept revealing more the longer you looked — Dori, zardozi, chikankari, kasab, thread, texture, all in humble conversation rather than competition.

References to Mumbai’s cinematic landmarks ran through the piece. But what made the look from impressive to important was intent. For once, the craft wasn’t anonymous. The names and signatures of the artisans were woven into the garment itself. The artisans behind the work were acknowledged.

That changes how you see it.

Sawai Padmanabh Singh: Maximalism Originates From His Home

© Instagram/Gauravi Kumari

And then came the man who didn’t need to prove any of it.

Sawai Padmanabh Singh — Pacho — didn’t arrive with spectacle. He arrived with ease inside complexity.

A long, textured overcoat — richly quilted, intricately worked, but controlled in palette — layered over a sharply grounded black base. The look by Prabal Gurung revealed itself slowly.

Jewellery sat where it belonged. It wasn’t styled for effect, but worn like it had always been there. The silhouette allowed movement, posture, presence of a royal body to do their work.

Nothing looked added at the last minute. Nothing looked uncertain. Sawai Padmanabh Singh and Princess Gauravi Kumari simply looked like two royals walking comfortably in their own premises.

This is what maximalism looks like when you’ve grown up around it.

What Most Indian Men Get Wrong

The takeaway isn’t “dress like this.” It never is. You don’t need to be scared of maximalism. You just need to learn how to own it. Indian menswear never lacked richness — textiles, embroidery, layering, jewellery.

What it often lacks is permission. Permission to not dilute it. Permission to not apologise for it. Permission to carry it fully.

Since the moment these three walked on the red carpet, they weren’t trying to pull off maximalism. They were simply wearing it like it had always belonged to them.