The 98th Academy Awards had the usual suspects. Bvlgari. Cartier. Harry Winston. Tens of millions of dollars’ worth of stones draped across famous necks, same as every year. But something a bit different happened on 15 March 2026 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Singer Brandi Carlile and her wife, Catherine Shepherd, walked that red carpet wearing pieces most people had never heard of. Swadesh Fine Jewellery. Indian. Handmade. Rooted in craft traditions that go back generations.

And honestly? That’s the more interesting story.

The Sunflower That Took 100 Hours to Bloom

Brandi Carlile, 44, chose the Petal Prism Brooch from Swadesh. Gold. Centred around an oval-cut emerald. Surrounded by pavé-set diamonds, each one placed using an open-setting technique so light could move through the stones freely rather than be blocked by a solid mount behind them.

The petal shapes were not stamped out by machine. Neither was the stem. All were hand-shaped by master goldsmiths in Telangana in South India, where generations of families have practised goldsmithing. The entire piece took more than 100 man-hours to complete for one brooch. 

Remember that the next time someone glibly writes “artisanal” on a menu.

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Catherine Shepherd and the Diamond “Fabric”

Catherine Shepherd’s choice was a diamond necklace. Entirely different in feeling. Where Carlile’s brooch had structure, this piece moved. It was built to drape along the neckline the way fabric does, each segment articulated so nothing sits stiff or static. A continuous ribbon of hand-set diamonds runs through it in a chevron pattern with what the brand describes as Victorian-era detailing. Old romance. Very precise engineering. Both at once.

Getting that right isn’t easy. Too rigid and it looks like armour. Too loose and the silhouette disappears. This one sat perfectly. 

What is Swadesh?

Swadesh is an initiative founded by Nita Ambani through the Reliance Foundation. Swadesh is more than just a jewellery brand. The full scope includes handlooms, textiles, handicrafts, and food products. Its first standalone store opened in Hyderabad in 2023, a 20,000 sq ft space stocking handmade goods from across India. 

The Mumbai flagship followed at the Eros Building in Churchgate, which is a beautiful Art Deco structure in its own right. The match between building and brand wasn’t accidental.

The initiative works with over 12,000 artisans spanning more than 500 craft traditions. Nita Ambani herself has said, “Through Swadesh, we hope to give them the global recognition that they richly deserve.” Plans to expand to the US and Europe have already been announced publicly.

So no, this wasn’t a one-off celebrity placement deal. The Oscars’ appearance was years of groundwork, arriving at a very visible moment.

Other Celebrities Wearing Swadesh 

The Swadesh Fine Jewellery presence at the 2026 Oscars was actually broader than most people noticed at first. Stylist and “image architect” Law Roach wore a Swadesh brooch alongside archival McQueen. 

The label was worn by the actress and singer Minnie Driver. So did the actor Kyle MacLachlan, model Alessandra Ambrosio, designer Tan France, and fashion journalist Zanna Roberts Rassi, who took it a step further to also wear Swadesh in collaboration with the celebrated design duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. That’s more than one celebrity making an unconventional choice. That’s a collective, public statement about what belongs on this stage.

Why This Matters More Than Another Jewellery Moment

Look, there’s no shortage of expensive jewellery at the Oscars. There never is. What’s rarer is jewellery that carries a specific cultural argument with it.

The artisans who made Brandi Carlile’s brooch and Catherine Shepherd’s necklace aren’t household names. They don’t have PR teams. Their workshops in Telangana have been running for generations, with the work passed down from parent to child as it has always been done. When the pieces found their way into Getty Images archives and onto fashion websites from London to Los Angeles, it placed that craft in front of a different audience than it would have reached otherwise. 

That visibility has real-world weight. Seeing Indian goldsmithing sitting beside Bvlgari and Cartier on the same red carpet in front of international buyers, stockists, and consumers shifts the conversation around the provenance of fine jewellery. Slowly. But it shifts.

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India had a Proper Night of it at the 2026 Oscars

Swadesh wasn’t the only Indian presence on that carpet, either. Several attendees were also seen wearing Sabyasachi’s High Jewellery. On the carpet were gowns by Rahul Mishra and Gaurav Gupta. Overall, the shape of the evening felt different from a fashion perspective than it has in years past. More Indian designers. More intentional placement. 

Less of the “exotic influence” framing that used to dominate coverage of Indian fashion on Western stages and more of a straightforward acknowledgement that these designers simply belong here.

That’s worth noting. This is not done in a “celebrate diversity” tick-box manner, just as an accurate description of what actually happened.

The Telangana Connection

This part tends to get buried in the style coverage. The goldsmiths behind the Petal Prism Brooch are based in Telangana, a state in South India with a long history of intricate metalwork and jewellery making. This isn’t a generalised “Indian craftsmanship” story. It’s specific. Regional. The open-setting diamond technique used on Carlile’s brooch requires particular expertise and patience. Each stone placed individually. Each petal is shaped with tools that would look familiar to a craftsman from a hundred years ago.

Swadesh has been actively building supply chains that go directly to workshops like these, rather than routing through layers of middlemen. Part of the brand’s structure involves Reliance Foundation’s RAISE centres, 18 of which are in the process of being set up across India to directly support artisan communities at the grassroots level.

The brooch on Brandi Carlile’s lapel wasn’t imported from a central factory. It came from a specific workshop, from specific hands.

Bottom Line

The trend into which Swadesh fits is not new, but it’s gaining speed. A growing number of consumers, especially at the higher end of the market, are looking for provenance. Where was this made? By whom? Using what method? Generic luxury brand names still hold power, but they are now going up against something that is more difficult to manufacture: real heritage and traceable craft. 

Swadesh’s positioning occupies that space. Each piece has a story behind it that can be verified—not invented for marketing purposes. Grounded in place, tradition, and people, these are products with soul. 

That’s a different category of luxury. And, by the looks of it, at this year’s Oscars night 2026, that’s a theme that struck a chord.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What did Brandi Carlile wear from Swadesh at the 2026 Oscars?

Carlile wore the Petal Prism Brooch, a gold design centred on an oval-cut emerald with pavé-set diamond petals arranged using an open-setting technique. The piece was handcrafted by master craftsmen in the state of Telangana and involved over 100 hours of work.

What did Catherine Shepherd wear from Swadesh?

Catherine Shepherd wore a diamond necklace that was made to fall gently along the neck, engineered with an articulated construction that allows each piece to flow with the body. It has a continuous ribbon of hand-set diamonds in chevron formations and Victorian-era detailing.

Who founded Swadesh Fine Jewellery?

Swadesh is an initiative of Reliance Foundation, founded by Nita Ambani. It collaborates with more than 12,000 artisans across over 500 craft traditions in India.

Were other celebrities wearing Swadesh at the 2026 Oscars?

Yes. Others wearing Swadesh on the night included Law Roach, Minnie Driver, Kyle MacLachlan, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Tan France, along with journalist Zanna Roberts Rassi.

Where can you buy Swadesh Fine Jewellery?

Swadesh has established flagship stores in Mumbai (Eros Building, Churchgate) and Hyderabad, which are accessible on Swadesh online. There have been expansion announcements for the US and Europe.

Why is the Telangana connection significant?

Goldsmithing workshops in Telangana follow 800-year-old traditions, which are passed on from generation to generation. The artisans who created the pieces for the Oscars employed specific regional techniques, like the open-setting diamond technique, that cannot be mirrored by factory production. Swadesh works directly with these communities through its RAISE skill centres.

Sources and References

• The Economic Times: Ambani’s Swadesh Brand Takes the Oscars – A deep dive into how Isha Ambani is positioning Indian luxury on the global stage.
• The Hans India: Brandi Carlile and Catherine Shepherd Shine in Swadesh – Detailed technical specs on the Petal Prism brooch and the feather-inspired diamond necklace.
• Telangana Today: Master Artisans from Telangana at the Academy Awards – A look at the generational goldsmithing traditions that made these red carpet looks possible.
• Hindustan Times: Indian High Jewellery and Couture Dazzle at Oscars 2026 – Analysis of the hours of labour and specific artisanal techniques used for the event.
• Yahoo UK: Who Designed Many of the Stylish Brooches on the 2026 Oscars Red Carpet? All About the Swadesh Brand