Bhavitha Mandava Makes History as Chanel’s First Indian House Ambassador

Indian model Bhavitha Mandava has reached a new milestone in global fashion, becoming the first Indian house ambassador for Chanel – a historic appointment that places her among an elite roster that includes Margot Robbie, Jennie Kim, and Timothée Chalamet.

The announcement marks another defining moment in the Hyderabad-born model’s meteoric rise, which has seen her go from student to one of fashion’s most talked-about new faces in just over a year.

Mandava shared the news with her followers on Instagram, posting the official announcement and expressing gratitude for the journey that brought her to the storied French fashion house.

Mandava’s path into fashion was anything but conventional. Born and raised in Hyderabad, India, she initially pursued architecture at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad before moving to New York to study design and media at New York University.

Her modelling career began unexpectedly in 2024 when she was approached by a talent scout while waiting at a subway station in Brooklyn after a rejected internship interview. Initially skeptical about modelling, she reconsidered after being told it could help her pay off student loans.

That chance encounter would quickly change her life. Soon after, Mandava made her runway debut as an exclusive for Matthieu Blazy at Bottega Veneta’s Spring/Summer 2025 show. When Blazy later moved to Chanel as creative director, Mandava became one of the key faces of his new era at the house.

Her breakthrough came when she made history as the first Indian model to open Chanel’s Métiers d’Art 2025/26 show in New York, staged, fittingly, in a subway station reminiscent of where she had first been discovered

Now, with her appointment as Chanel’s first Indian house ambassador, Mandava’s journey, from a subway platform in New York to the upper echelons of Parisian couture, signals a new moment for South Asian representation in the global fashion industry.