Kerala firm weaves Met Gala 2025's expansive carpet for the third time

The Hindu

06-05-2025

Every year, the Met Gala's carpet goes through its iterations, metamorphosing each time with a new theme. In 2023, one saw a stunning off-white fabric, to be a canvas for the theme of the year: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. In 2025, the red carpet took on a blue hue, dotted with stunning dainty yellow and white daffodils, at the star-spangled event — all so that celebrities could look their dandiest to accommodate the theme: Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.
Just like Shah Rukh Khan, who made his debut in an all-black ensemble by designer Sabyasachi, and musician Diljit Dosanjh enthralled in a regal Maharaja-themed outfit; the carpet, too ended up having its moment.
Woven by Neytt Homes from Kerala, it took 480 people to work on the carpet for over 90 days to meet the Met Gala standards. But this is not new to Neytt, which had its first Gala outing in 2022. The organisation wove the carpet the following year too.
For the employees of the luxury home furnishings brand based in Cherthala, Alappuzha, it is a moment of pride, says Sivan Santhosh, director, Extraweave, the parent company; and CEO of Neytt. 'A lot of care and effort have gone into the carpet. The entire team, across departments, worked together to create this beautiful piece of art,' he says.
While it was hand-painted by artists in New York, the white base carpet was sent by Neytt in 57 rolls (of four metres x 30metres). Covering an area of 6,840 square metres, the wall-to-wall carpet was woven from natural sisal fibre imported from Madagascar.
Known to be the longest, finest, and whitest of fibres, the artisans at Neytt, had to sort the fibre by hand to avoid shade variations. 'Even a slightly off-coloured thread can show up as a shade variation. We did multiple quality checks to ensure the colour was uniform,' says Sivan. 'The team covered every single detail. The boucle weave (a type of flat weave) was done in a specialised loom. For us, it feels like more than just a carpet. It is a unique confluence of art, fashion and culture,' Sivan adds.
Neytt draws from its legacy in the carpeting space. This company was started by Sivan's grandfather K Velayudhan, who set up Travancore Mats and Matting company in 1917. The brand grew over the years, exporting rugs and carpets to places across the world. Sivan's father Santhosh Velayudhan launched Extraweave Pvt. Ltd. two decades ago, taking the business a notch higher with imported machinery and expanding the company's horizons.
Neytt, founded by Sivan along with Nimisha Srinivas, works towards creating sustainable rugs and carpets using silk, sisal, seagrass, water hyacinth, lyocell, bamboo silk, linen, and recycled PET. The company also works towards empowering women from the region; over 40% of Neytt's workforce is women, including in leadership roles.
'We have been working closely with the Met Gala team for three years now and we are proud that the carpet we create is a canvas for the iconic event,' says Sivan.