Overview
- India reopened its National Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale with the exhibition Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home, presented through a partnership between the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre and the Ministry of Culture.
- Nita Ambani attended the inauguration events in a handwoven Banarasi Kaduwa saree and a Manish Malhotra lace blouse, pairing the look with a rivière necklace she curated from her private collection of rubies, emeralds, and diamonds.
- A rivière necklace is a classic high-jewelry style that forms a continuous line of matched gemstones, which in this case were crafted by Kantilal Chhotalal and accompanied by asymmetrical earrings.
- Isha Ambani hosted the inaugural dinner in a deep burgundy Chanel haute couture sari gown that reworked an archival 1989 look into an Indian-inspired silhouette.
- Coverage of Radhika Merchant’s Biennale attire remains split, with several outlets naming a powder-blue Givenchy sari-inspired gown while others, citing new images, credit a custom Erdem ensemble made with Swadesh-woven brocade, and the reports do not resolve whether these were separate looks or a misattribution.