For four consecutive years, a family-run studio from Cherthala, Alappuzha, Kerala has quietly laid the foundation of the world’s most photographed walkway. While the cameras flashed elsewhere and the world watched the outfits, Neytt by Extraweave founded by Sivan Santhosh and Nimisha Srinivas quietly laid the stage. Coming from a 109 year old family legacy, since 2022 Neytt by Extraweave has been the invisible artisan behind Met Gala’s most photographed backdrop. Know on SURFACES REPORTER (SR) how the base carpet was woven in India and then shipped to New York to be hand-painted by artists, aligning with year’s theme.
2022: 1st Year | Met Gala Theme: In America: An Anthology of Fashion
Palette: Crimson + cream
Pattern: Red and blue stripes
Material: Natural sisal fibre
A regal deep-red carpet edged in soft cream carpet was the first instance when the Met Gala switched from traditional wool to natural sisal fibre. Neytt received the order through their US client Fibreworks Corporation and later learned it was for the Met Gala. The colour was a magnificent nod to the evening’s theme Gilded Glamour and White Tie. The design was machine-woven on looms in Cherthala and hand-finished by artisans.
2023: 2nd Year | Met Gala Theme: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty
Palette: Off-white, red, blue
Pattern: Serpentine S-curves
Size: 6,960 m²; 58 rolls
An off-white sisal weave hand-painted by NYC artists with S-shaped serpentine lines in red and blue was a direct nod to William Hogarth’s line of beauty. It was designed in collaboration with Japanese architect Tadao Ando and event planner Raul Avila. Made with 100 per cent sisal fibres derived from the Agave plant, it covered 6,960 sqm and took 60 days to complete.
2025: 3rd Year |Met Gala Theme: Superfine: Tailoring Black Style
Palette: Midnight blue, gold
Pattern: Daffodil / narcissus
Size: 63,000 sq ft ; 480 artisans
This was the most artistic collaboration yet. Neytt wove a natural sisal boucle base of 63,000sqft from fibre hand-sorted in Madagascar. Painted in midnight blue by Brooklyn-based artist Cy Gavin and scattered with white and yellow narcissus flowers mirroring his artwork Untitled Sky, the carpet captured themes of self-recognition and identity. With 480–500 artisans, every seam was hand-finished in Kerala in 90 days.
2026: 4th Year | Met Gala Theme: Superfine: Costume Art · Fashion is Art
Palette: Tan + moss green
Pattern: Garden stone pathway
Size: 73,625 sqft ; boucle
Designed in collaboration with event visionary Raul Avila and the creative team of Baz Luhrmann and Derek McLane, this 73,625sqft white base, hand-sorted Madagascar sisal in boucle weave was woven in Cherthala and shipped months early to NYC. Painted under strict no-phone conditions by a team directed by Baz Luhrmann and Derek McLane, its final design evoked a stone garden walkway colonised by moss, suggesting timelessness. Reportedly, the finished carpet bore the tag Made in India.
How A Met Gala Carpet Is Born In Kerala
Fibre sourced: Madagascar sisal, hand-sorted for impurities
Spun to yarn: Twisted into boucle yarn on looms in Cherthala
Hand-finished: All seaming, shearing and binding are done by hand
Painted in NYC: Artists apply theme motifs under strict NDA
What The Carpet Is Made Of
Extracted from the leaves of the Agave plant, a cactus native to Central America and East Africa, the sisal fibre is biodegradable, strong and texture-rich. Neytt has worked with sisal for over 23 years. The fibre is hand-sorted to ensure zero visible impurities across a wall-to-wall installation. Reportedly, the fibre is strong enough to stretch up to 120cm and can handle stiletto heels without snagging, which is a key reason the Met specifically requested it.
What Is Boucle Weave?
It is a looped, knotted textile structure where a needle-like shuttle punctures through sisal strands. The resulting dense, curled surface subtly catches light, thereby giving the carpet depth and dimensional richness that flat weaves cannot achieve. These loops also improve durability underfoot.
Neytt by Extraweave: A 109-Year Family Legacy Behind Every Thread
These are not just carpets; they are landscapes. In 2022, craft entered through the carpet while handmade couture revived. Neytt showcased texture dominance in 2023 as fashion chose to put fabric-first design. In 2025, the carpet led sustainability and couture brought conscious luxury. This year, Neytt’s design created a narrative surface and fashion recited the story.
Unlike gowns that are credited to designers, carpets are collective craftsmanship where hundreds of artisans come together, many a times anonymous, to weave a story. Maybe, we all can have a different perspective on the Met Gala this year as while the world looks at celebrities, how about we glance down a little because for four consecutive years, the most walked on surface in global fashion has quietly been ideated, designed and woven in India.