Chanel's Bhavitha Mandava by Luigi and Iango for V Magazine 161 Pre-Fall

Chanel's Bhavitha Mandava by Luigi and Iango for V Magazine 161 Pre-Fall AOC Fashion

Photographers Luigi and Iango [IG] share assignment duties with Inez and Vinoodh [IG] for V Magazine [IG] Issue 161 Pre-Fall 2026. Bhavitha Mandava is one of five models photographed for V Magazine’s project. Other models with ‘Fall Head Over Heels!’ cover[s] include Jacqui Hooper, Libby Taverner, Liu Wen and Sascha Rajasalu, all styled by B. Åkerlund.

Chanel creative director Matthieu Blazy must smile with a deeply-personal joy over the success of his protégé, discovered on the NY Subway just in time to walk Blazy’s Bottega Veneta S/S 25 Show in September 2024.

Chanel’s Blazy and Nair: Both Have Alpha-Beta Skills in Perfect Global Balance

Under the combined brilliance of Blazy and Chanel CEO Leena Nair — an extraordinary balance of alpha-beta frequencies is simmering over at Chanel. Hours before Chanel’s early March F/W 2026 show in Paris, the duo decided to make Bhavitha Mandava a Chanel ambassador, straight-up. You do not risk losing a woman with the poise, elegance and personality of this real-life treasure.

I’m sure that Chanel was reading the same Red Note summaries out of China that I was. Young women, their own mothers, their grandmothers and aunties — Chinese women were ‘mad’ for Mandava and her New York subway discovery story.