Sculpting Fantasies

The planets are perfectly aligned for Gaurav Gupta, whose cosmic creations have made it to global best-dressed lists on multiple occasions

- NIDA NAEEM

Gaurav Gupta feels right at home in Paris. Post his second outing at Paris Haute Couture Week earlier in July this year, the designer admits, "I'm finally at peace. It's like I was this frustrated child who was not getting the right creative outlet. I'm not making comparisons; it's just what it is. I'm at ease when I'm around similar creative, elevated minds, and that's what Paris Haute Couture Week has been like for me. It's almost like a homecoming."

The invitation to showcase at the esteemed PHCW for the first time came last December, months after Gupta had already tasted international acclaim dressing the likes of Megan Thee Stallion for her Oscars debut in 2022, and creating a custom look for Cardi B for the remix music video of No Love.

Miss Cardi B is a certified GG fan, seven days a week. She donned a sinuous electric blue number by the couturier for her Grammys 2023 red carpet appearance, and was also spotted in a lime green hooded gown at Gupta's recent Fall 2023 couture presentation in Paris, sitting front row alongside Chinese actor Fan Bingbing. There's a reason GG couture finds its way to the most impactful artists of our generation. "Our approach is not just to dress anybody who has millions of Instagram followers. We look at people who are real cultural drivers," says Gupta.