A Pakistani-origin creator, Atifa Arshad, turned Spider-Man’s web into couture and became one of the most talked-about looks of the London premiere.
Hollywood premieres are built for showstopping gowns. This time, a sari did the stealing. At the London premiere of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, UK-based Pakistani content creator Atifa Arshad walked the red carpet in a custom spiderweb sari and walked away as one of the most talked-about names of the night.
The look was exactly what it sounds like. A flowing black sari, threaded with intricate crimson beadwork arranged into an oversized spider web, its hem sweeping into a dramatic web-shaped train. The web motif carried up through the neckline of a sculpted full-sleeved blouse, and even the potli bag echoed the same pattern. It read as couture, cosplay and cultural pride all at once, and the internet could not get enough of it.
The design came together long before the invitation did. According to The Express Tribune, the sari was conceived by London-based Lebanese designer Rita Qaranbach, who sketched out the concept Arshad had envisioned, and then stitched by Arshad’s longtime family tailor in Pakistan.
That detail is the heart of the look. A Lebanese designer’s couture eye, a Pakistani tailor’s hands, and a Marvel superhero as the muse. Arshad has said the whole thing was set in motion around three months before she ever received a premiere invite, planned purely on instinct and love for the character. Spider-Man holds a special place for her, and this was her second Marvel premiere, so the risk felt personal rather than calculated.
She kept the styling deliberately restrained so the sari could do the talking. A ruby and diamond necklace with matching earrings, soft smoky glam with a precise winged liner and a glossy neutral lip, and a sleek centre-parted low bun. Nothing competed with the embroidery. Everything pointed back to it.
How the Spider-Man Sari Went Viral Online
Once the photos hit Instagram, the look took off. The response ran into the hundreds of millions in reach, and it pulled in praise from well beyond the desi fashion world. American celebrity stylist Law Roach, the mind behind many of Zendaya’s most iconic red carpet moments, dropped a simple “So pretty” on her post, and the fashion commentary crowd picked it up from there.
What made the reaction land was the sentiment underneath it. People called it iconic. They called her their queen. Comment after comment carried the same note of pride, the sense that someone had represented South Asian craft on a global stage and done it flawlessly. Fellow creators, makeup artists and fans lined up to say how far she had come and how deserving the moment was. The recurring phrase, over and over, was that the internet would never forget this look.
Arshad described being overwhelmed by the messages and the love, and framed the whole thing as bigger than a single outfit. For her, it was about celebrating culture and creativity, and about proving that embracing who you are, rather than shrinking to fit one box, can resonate in the most unexpected ways. A creative risk paid off in full view of the world.
South Asian Fashion Takes the Red Carpet
Arshad was not the only South Asian creator to lean into the theme. Content creator and Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree Zainab Jiwa also attended the premiere in a modest Spider-Man-inspired ensemble, pairing a skirt by Raishma with a pearl web corset by Harriet Christelow, and finishing the look with spiderweb-inspired henna. Two creators, two very different takes, one shared instinct to bring heritage onto a Hollywood carpet.
That is really the throughline here. Method dressing, the art of dressing to the theme of an event, has become one of the biggest games on any red carpet, and South Asian creators are showing how much room there is to play. Traditional silhouettes, centuries-old embroidery techniques and modern pop culture are not at odds. In the right hands, they amplify each other.
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