Hold Up—Did Someone Really Just Wear Jeans on the Met Gala Red Carpet?

By wazup on December 31, 1969 Comments Closed / 2 views

Hold Up—Did Someone Really Just Wear Jeans on the Met Gala Red Carpet?

When it comes to Met Gala dressing, go big, go bold, and then push it even further. It’s fashion’s most theatrical night—so naturally, it’s the last place you’d expect to spot something as seemingly everyday as jeans. Which is exactly why I did a double-take when model Bhavitha Mandava arrived in what appeared to be a pair of jeans and a zip-up polo.

At first glance, her look feels worlds away from the sculptural Schiaparelli moments that dominate the red carpet. But this wasn’t a casual, off-duty denim situation—it was Chanel, after all. Her floor-skimming, straight-leg “jeans” were lifted from Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel and echoed the very look she wore to open the house’s Métiers d’Art show back in December.

Model Bhavitha Mandava wears straight-leg jeans and a sheer polo top and Chanel two-tone heels on the Met Gala 2026 red carpet.

And here’s where it gets interesting. What reads like classic denim and a lightweight knit is, in fact, crafted from an ultra-fine silk, designed to mimic the appearance of everyday fabrics. It’s a trompe l’oeil effect that’s become something of a Chanel signature of late, also seen across the brand’s spring/summer haute couture collection.

Model Bhavitha Mandava opens the Chanel M&eacute;tiers d&rsquo;art show in December wearing two-tone heels, jeans and a sweater.

Admittedly, it might not deliver the kind of overt drama we’ve come to expect from a Met Gala red carpet, but for Bhavitha, this particular look carries a deeper resonance—mirroring the outfit that helped launch her modelling career in the first place.

If you suddenly feel inspired to revisit your own denim collection, you’re not alone. While silk iterations may be few and far between, there’s no shortage of impeccably cut straight-leg styles to choose from. Keep scrolling to discover the best pairs to invest in now.