Mona Patel On Masculinity, Learning And Life Beyond Couture

You do not have to be a fashion nerd to know of the chokehold Mona Patel had on people across the world when she attended the 2024 Met Gala as the "mystery woman" in a custom Iris van Herpen gown with mechanical butterflies fluttering on it. Since then, the entrepreneur has made a place for herself as a permanent fixture in the couture world, cementing fashion and technology together. But who is Mona Patel when the cameras stop rolling? What is she like beyond the awe-inspiring outfits and front row invites? We find out.

Sabyasachi’s return to New York after 20 years felt like a genuine cultural moment. Bengal Byzantine Broadway moved effortlessly from Calcutta to Texas and back again—and only Sabya could make denim and a cowboy hat feel like Indian heirlooms. The crowd was as distinguished and eclectic as the collection, which is exactly what he deserves.

Only Thom could turn A Bug’s Life into a dissertation on tailoring—and somehow make a bowl cut look aspirational. I loved what Wes did at Carolina Herrera: a love letter to New York that moved from Warhol and The New Yorker to taxicab yellow. LaQuan Smith understands that New York women require a 24-hour wardrobe because none of us ever seem to go home. Always the coolest show of the week!

For me, fashion was once an earned hobby, both literally and emotionally. I had to work to afford it, but I also had to grow into believing I belonged within it. I was a tomboy growing up in Baroda, where couture felt a world away, and I never thought I was beautiful enough to claim femininity for myself.

Today, I feel I have come into my own. I believe my visibility has grown because people can see the genuine joy I find in experimenting, pushing boundaries and creating in concert with others. Fashion is never the work of one person; every memorable moment is an act of collective genius. If I am fortunate enough to have a platform, that is what I want to celebrate.

Because I was such a tomboy, I have always loved a suit and still associate it with power. Women learned to borrow the authority of menswear; perhaps men can borrow some of the freedom women bring to dressing.

I think men sometimes treat dressing well as a formula and become afraid of beauty, playfulness or individuality. A man can wear color, texture, jewelry or an unexpected silhouette without sacrificing his masculinity. In fact, the confidence to experiment is often what makes someone compelling.

I’m actually a very down-to-earth, chronically offline person. I need to become much better about posting—and responding—on Instagram.

I actually make some of my own clothes, wear track pants, take the subway and bike around New York. That is how I recently arrived at the Thom Browne show on time! It was simply the fastest way to cross the city amid Fashion Week traffic! It became a whole moment and I think that captures the side of me people rarely see. I may love the fantasy of couture, but in everyday life I am direct, resourceful and deeply pragmatic. (Proud Taurus here!) I love luxuries but I do not care for a fancy car, if that means that I’m going to arrive unfashionably late.

Well, first of all if no one is going to see me, I will be in sweatpants and a hoodie—proudly—until, of course, I have to leave the apartment.

I work around the clock, but whenever I have free time, I return to learning. I am a lifelong student and am almost always studying something. I joke that I collect degrees the way I collect couture.

Learning is both energizing and restorative for me. I love discovering new disciplines, challenging my assumptions and finding connections between subjects that may initially seem unrelated. A really good day is one in which I have had the space to read, study and come away understanding something—or seeing the world—a little differently.

Because I already make some of my own clothes, I would love to spend time in an atelier and seriously study couture construction—draping, patternmaking, embroidery and all the extraordinary handwork that happens before a garment reaches the runway.

And, for once, I would not want to turn it into a business! Quite the opposite. I would want to experience the pleasure of making something slowly, meticulously and entirely by hand. We live in a culture obsessed with speed and scale; there is something radical about mastering a craft that refuses to be rushed.

I am especially excited about my latest project, The Other AI Lab, where “AI” stands for Aesthetic Intelligence. At a moment when everyone is asking what technology can replace, I am much more interested in what remains distinctly human: intuition, taste, imagination, cultural understanding and the ability to create emotional resonance.

I do not believe technology should substitute human creativity. I believe it should support and extend it. The Other AI Lab explores that relationship—how we can use emerging technology without surrendering the judgment, sensitivity and point of view that give ideas meaning.

That question sits at the intersection of so much of my life: technology, entrepreneurship, fashion and culture. It is what I am most excited to explore next.

A man at his best is secure enough not to need to dominate every room. He is curious, emotionally intelligent and consistent in how he treats people—especially women.

True confidence is generous. It makes space for others, listens without defensiveness and does not confuse power with authority. Style may be the first thing we notice, but character is ultimately what makes a man memorable.