On the Podcast: British Vogue’s March Cover Star, Bhavitha Mandava—and Impressions From Dior

When Bhavitha Mandava learned she would play a Chanel bride in Matthieu Blazy’s Spring 2026 show, she approached the role the same way she did her research paper at New York University: Mandava headed straight to a library in Paris, pored over books on fashion, and watched every video of previous Chanel brides she could find.

“Then I came up with a story in my head. I thought, OK, I’m going to look at the audience around me like I’m my friends and family, and I’m going to look at the catwalk like I’m walking down the aisle,” she told Chioma Nnadi on Wednesday’s show Through.

Just weeks before her wedding, Mandava made history by becoming the first Indian model to open a Chanel show: Blazy’s 2025-2026 Métiers d’Art show in a New York City subway station. Coming full circle, her look on the show wasn’t all that different from the outfit she wore when she was scouted.

“After I got rejected from the interview, I was going to get biryani with my friends,” she recalls. “I was waiting for him on Atlantic Avenue when my now ‘mother’s agent’ came up to me and asked, ‘Are you a model?’ I said, ‘No. “He said, ‘Do you want to be one of them?'”

Mandawa was initially skeptical but was eventually convinced by the prospect of paying off the school’s debt. Just a few months later, she fully launched her modeling career and amassed over 500,000 followers on social media. “My dad collected every newspaper,” she said. “He cut out all the articles about me, like [in] new york times. I don’t even know how he got it. They do not ship to India. “

Earlier in this episode, we continued our coverage of Chloe and Arden Fanning Andrews’ fashion week, Fashion‘s beauty editors were in the car sharing their thoughts on Jonathan Anderson’s latest Dior collection. Their highlights include the epic water lily shoes, love storyPaul Anthony Kelly danced to runway music and “wigs” (you had to listen to know what they were!). With the greenhouse environment in mind, Arden made a bold prediction: “The sweat is coming.” You heard it here first, folks!