Last night, Kareena Kapoor Khan chose a gown with a legacy to rival her own—an original Vicky Tiel couture piece from 1987, a design etched into cinematic memory as one of the most recognisable red dresses.
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Cut in the designer’s signature ruched stretch mesh and rendered in a deep merlot red, the strapless gown channels pure '80s glamour. A sculpted sweetheart neckline traced the collarbone, while built-in corsetry shaped the waist from within. Rather than relying on embellishment or multiple tones, the design let precise draping do the work, with the ruching both elongating the frame and creating movement. Every contour traced the body’s lines, creating a sensual and fluid silhouette.
Styled by Rhea Kapoor and Shereen Sikka, the ensemble leaned into tonal intensity. Seventy-five carats of Burmese rubies from Amrapali Jewels adorned Khan’s neck, their glimmering red deepening the gown’s colour story. Beauty followed the Old Hollywood inspiration—bronzed skin, softly defined eyes and a classic red lip—with sleek, open hair keeping the neckline and the gemstones front and centre.
The dress comes with its own mythology. Adapted for Julia Roberts’s Pretty Woman, Vicky Tiel’s ruched red creations became shorthand for high glamour in the celebrity culture of the late ’80s. In the decades since, iterations of the design have been worn by popular figures like Jill Biden and her granddaughter Finnegan Biden, with Khan being the latest to etch her name on this page from fashion history.
From Vogue's fashion desk
“Nothing screams iconic quite like a red dress with red lips. Amplify that Old Hollywood charm with heavier jewels—think bigger stones, multitiered necklaces with matching earrings. Add something one wouldn’t expect, like a pair of leopard-print pumps. Seal the look with a detachable train with oversized puffy sleeves of the same colour to elevate the look itself,” says Vogue India fashion associate Manglien Gangte.
