3 minutes readNew DelhiUpdated: 13 February 2026 03:02 PM IST
Bhavitha Mandava is all set to appear on the cover of British Vogue. (Source: Instagram/@bhavithamandava)
After making history as the first Indian model to open Chanel’s Métiers D’Art show in New York last December, Pavitha Mandava is all set to make her debut on the cover of the magazine. British Vogue for March 2026. After Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ January 2023 cover, Pavitha is the second Indian to grab this opportunity.
Against a bright blue backdrop, Pavitha looked resplendent in an orange, yellow and brown Chanel feathered jacket and skirt, and emerald earrings from Chopard. Thick, windswept hair and wide smile captured the rising star’s spiritual essence, as she looked directly into the camera with her hands on her hips.
From the “supermodel” to Bollywood designer Rhea Kapoor! For Victoria’s Secret model Neelam Kaur Gill “This makes me so proud 🥹🤎 A brown joy to the world!”, fashion industry supporters and peers expressed their appreciation in the comments on British Vogue’s Instagram post.
In the cover interview, Mandava recalled opening the Chanel show, which thrust her into the middle of a larger cultural discourse. “Opening a Chanel show was something very personal for me, and then it suddenly became symbolic in a way I didn’t expect. In the West, it touched on the question of who should be included in the idea of beauty and whether Indian women are even allowed to be seen as traditionally beautiful,” she said.
Acknowledging the deep history of colorism in her country, she added, “In India, colorism is very entrenched. People said I looked like ‘any girl on the street’ because light skin is often treated as the default. I don’t think it’s really about me, it’s the culture renegotiating itself.”
Who is Pavitha Mandava?
An architecture student at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad, Mandava moved to New York to pursue a Master of Science in Integrated Design and Media/Human-Computer Interaction at New York University. Before her graduation in 2025, she was selected to participate in Bottega Veneta’s spring/summer 2025 show curated by artistic director Matteo Blazzi, while waiting for the subway at the Atlantic Avenue station two years ago. When Blazy moved to Chanel, Pavitha followed him and opened the Métiers d’Art show in December, closing his first couture show in Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week In January 2026.
Is this the first time a brunette has appeared on the cover of British Vogue? No, before Mandava, there were prolific figures like Malala Yousafzai, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jameela Jamil, Saffron Vadhar (for the December 2018 issue with Adut Akech, Stella Tennant and Primrose Archer) and Simone Ashley. Brown models have also made us proud over the years, but this single feature feels historic because Bhavitha Mandava seems to be caught in the middle of a cultural shift that is redefining beauty standards in the fashion industry.
