From subway station to Chanel runway, 25-year-old Hyderabad girl opens show in NYC

Bhavitha Mandava, a 25-year-old model from Hyderabad, has taken the fashion world by storm, opening Chanel's Métiers d'art 2026 collection in New York City. This stunning achievement is even more remarkable considering Bhavitha was scouted at a New York City subway station just two weeks before the Spring/Summer 2025 season.

Before becoming a model, Bhavitha pursued architecture and later moved to the US to study assistive technology at NYU. Her unique background and talent caught the attention of Matthieu Blazy, who first cast her in his show, making her debut as a Bottega Veneta exclusive.

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A post shared by Bhavitha Mandava (@bhavithamandava)

Bhavitha shared an emotional video of her parents' reaction to her opening the Chanel show, captioning it, "Can’t put into words how much this means to me. Thank you @chanelofficial @matthieu_blazy." The clip has garnered 3.2 million views so far.

The video shows her mother and father watching her walk down the stairs of the Bowery Station, beaming with pride.

Fashion influencer Viren H Shah praised Bhavitha's journey, saying, "She was discovered in the most ordinary of places, a New York City subway. And yesterday she just opened the Chanel Métiers d’art show in New York City in a train station."

"Stand tall, walk tall baby girl. Wishing your parents a long happy healthy life," a comment read.

Top model Karlie Kloss also left a heart emoji on the video. Another user reacted, "The excitement and pride on their faces was amazing."