Bhavitha Mandava shuts down Venice Film Festival red carpet in Chanel sequin mermaid dress: It took 1,250 hours to make

Indian model Bhavitha Mandava made her Venice Film Festival debut wearing a breathtaking mermaid gown adorned with 30,000 sequins, designed by Matthieu Blazy.

Bhavitha Mandava, the Indian model who gained popularity after she opened Chanel's Métiers d’art 2026 collection in NYC and later made fashion history as the first-ever Indian House Ambassador for Chanel, is making waves again. The model made her red carpet debut at the Venice Film Festival.

The Indian supermodel attended the premiere of Shin’ya Tsukamoto’s ‘Mr Nelson, Did You Kill People?’ But this time, ditching the three-quarter zip and jeans (her much-discussed Met Gala debut look), Chanel dressed her in the closing look from their Resort 2027 collection. Let's decode her look:

The mermaid dress

Designed by Matthieu Blazy, Bhavitha shut down Venice in a stunning gown that is rightly called the mermaid dress. It comes in multiple shades of aqua blue, giving the illusion of a siren’s glimmering skin emerging from the water. It features a sleeveless silhouette with an exaggerated V-neckline on the front and the back.

According to Vogue, the dress was embroidered with 30,000 domed, heart-shaped sequins in shades of iridescent sky blue and deep turquoise. Meanwhile, its flounces on the back were embellished with 96,000 oval sequins in the same eye-catching aqua shades. In total, the maison’s Lesage atelier spent 1,250 hours embroidering the gown.

The flounces on the dress are embroidered directly onto the ensemble, on the back and hem, creating an oceanic feel – of a shell in the sea. The figure-hugging silhouette hugs her frame like a second skin, turning her into a mermaid.

The accessories

Bhavitha accessorised the look with a camellia brooch in blue and green sequins and earrings in gold-tone metal and red resin. Silver strappy sandals gave the ensemble a finishing touch.

For the glam, the supermodel chose feathered brows, silver eyeshadow, a glossy pink lip shade, light rouge and highlighter on the cheeks, soft contouring to accentuate her sharp facial structure, and mascara on the lashes. The soft makeup allowed the dress to shine on its own.

Meanwhile, for her hair, Bhavitha let it down in a side parting, placing her tresses on the side of her shoulder to create an elegant, simple look. The model's Venice Film Festival look proves you don't need bold makeup or loud accessories to make a statement; sometimes, even an eye-catching dress can do the job for you.

Who is Bhavitha Mandava?

Bhavitha Mandava is an Indian fashion model who made history by becoming the first-ever Indian House Ambassador for Chanel and the first Indian model to open a show for the luxury fashion house. Originally from Hyderabad, she studied architecture at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University and later pursued a master's degree at New York University (NYU). She was discovered by a modelling scout on a New York City subway.