When Radhika Merchant married Anant Ambani, the youngest son of one of the world’s richest men, Mukesh Ambani, over the weekend, about 2,000 guests were in attendance, according to Reliance Industries, the megacompany owned by the Ambani family.
In a country where weddings have a deep cultural and historical significance, where the rich spare no expense and some people spend more than their personal net wealth, the event represented a new level of opulence. This extended to the numerous stylists who worked for the family alone.
Members of the wedding party were front and center at the festivities, including Isha Ambani, the groom’s sister, and Shloka Ambani, the groom’s sister-in-law.
“The vision was to be simple and understated, yet cohesive,” said Diya Mehta Jatia, the stylist who worked with Shloka Ambani. Shloka’s carousel of looks included a Faraz Manan gown, a pearl sari by Tamara Ralph, a Versace gown, a rose lehenga by Manish Malhotra and a paan gold tissue sari designed by Masaba Gupta of House of Masaba.
In an Indian wedding, the immediate and extended family’s involvement is extensive, from organizing ceremonies and rituals to providing emotional and logistical support to the couple. Given their significant presence, the Ambani family members were likely well aware that the eyes of the world were on them.
Isha Ambani, the groom’s sister, worked with Anaita Shroff Adajania, a prominent stylist in India. Isha wore two custom Schiaparelli designs: a dress by Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli that featured robot twin babies, in honor of Isha’s toddler twins. (A similar — and single — robot baby turned heads when it came down the runway during Schiaparelli’s spring 2024 couture show in January.)
“Bizarrely people would say, ‘Ooh poor babies, they must be so uncomfortable dressed as robots’ and we would have a good laugh,” Ms. Adajania said. “The whole thing was fun, and we hope that people recognize through the looks what deeply joyous and meaningful events these were.”
Isha also wore a custom Schiaparelli sari in silver and cobalt blue, and an outfit designed by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla couture, with vintage heritage jewelry sewn right into a blouse.
As for the fate of that blouse, Ms. Adajania, who also worked with Isha for the 2024 Met Ball, said, “That one is destined to be a museum piece.”
