Bhavitha Mandava is the it girl of the moment, all thanks to Chanel’s Matthieu Blazy and his futuristic vision. The 25-year-old model from India closed Blazy’s first Haute Couture show at Paris Couture Week since taking over as artistic director. And truth be told, she looked nothing short of a dream dressed as a bride, walking with effortless confidence in a white feathered shirt and skirt combo paired with a feathery headgear wrapped around a bun, and white stilettoes.
An architecture student at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad, Mandava moved to New York to pursue a Master of Science in Integrated Design & Media/Human-Computer Interaction at New York University. Before her graduation in 2025, she came across a stroke of luck while waiting for the subway at the Atlantic Avenue station two years ago.
Her scouting story
In an Instagram post, Mandava shared how a scout from 28Models approached her two weeks before the Bottega Veneta Spring/Summer 2025 show. While she initially refused the offer, the scout mentioned how the opportunity could help her pay off her student debt, and Mandava finally relented. Her pictures were sent to casting director Anita Bitton, “a woman who has opened doors for so many people of color in fashion,” in Mandava’s words.
Bhavitha at her debut vs PCW. (Source: Instagram/@bhavithamandava, chanel.com)
Bitton forwarded the pictures to Blazy, who was then the creative director at Bottega Veneta. He cast her on the spot, and she walked the show in September 2024. Mandava walked the runway in a white, oversized, short-sleeved shirt, a pleated skirt, paired with open-toe, snake-print heels, and a yellow bag.
When Blazy was named the new artistic director of the French fashion house, Mandava followed him, walking in his debut Spring/Summer 2026 show in a black dress with gold tassels and pink feathers at the hem. She was also the first Indian model to open Chanel’s Métiers d’Art show in December, strutting with confidence in a beige quarter-zip, blue jeans, paired with white heels, and a brown bag. Set in an abandoned New York Subway station, it was a nod to the start of the 25-year-old’s modelling career and a full circle moment indeed.
“After my debut, I worked a job in the mornings, attended classes in the evenings, did homework at night, and flew to Europe every weekend to model. To everyone who supported me, from classmates and coworkers to professors, casting directors, creatives, my parents, and friends back home, I carry your kindness with me always. My parents never asked me to chase the extraordinary. They only wanted me to find happiness and peace in simplicity. Somehow, the extraordinary found me,” she expressed her gratitude in the caption of an Instagram post.
