ELLE Closet Confidential: Inside Rhea Kuruvilla’s Curated Closet

Rhea Kuruvilla is one of those rare people who makes you want to lean in—not just to her thoughts on art (she’s an advisor by profession), but to the way she wears a slightly off-kilter earring or a deceptively simple Chanel dress. One very perfect word for her style will be ‘curated.’ But not in a ‘Pinterest moodboard’ kind of way. Think instinctive, mood-led, and a little bit mischievous. Or, as she describes it herself, “Refined, but with bite.”

She loves structure, clean lines, and pieces that flirt with the classic before taking a sharp left turn. One day it's a grey tee and barrel jeans, the next it's a printed maxi. “It’s never just about looking polished,” she says. “It’s about expressing where I’m at in that moment.” Spoken like a true art girl.

The fashion influences? Thoughtful.

When it comes to inspiration, Kuruvilla looks to thinkers, not just dressers. Phoebe Philo’s Céline and Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent muses stand on top of her inspiration list. “There was so much intelligence in those clothes,” she says, describing how cerebral beauty holds a certain kind of power for her. But she also finds herself drawn to the new crop of Indian designers—the ones bringing polish and poetry together in just the right balance. Her style, she says, lives at that intersection: structure and spirit.

If she could swap wardrobes with anyone in the world? Zoë Kravitz, no question. “She balances minimalism with heat,” she says. “There’s a quiet sensuality to how she wears even the simplest things.”

Closet MVPs

Let’s talk about that grey Chanel dress. Kuruvilla picked it up in London back in 2018 while shopping with her mother but only recently started wearing it properly, and now it’s on weekly rotation. “It sits in that perfect sweet spot between effortless and elevated,” she says. Add to that, a printed Iro wrap dress that her mother convinced her to buy (mothers do know best), which has since become her unofficial lucky outfit, “Somehow, every time I wear it, the evening goes well.”

And then there’s that vintage Cavalli dress, the one she stumbled upon in Barcelona that looks like it walked off a 2001 runway and into a rockstar’s tour wardrobe. “Sepia-toned zebra print, beaded tassels, knee-length silk; it sounds unhinged, and it kind of is,” she laughs. “But I wore it for my 30th birthday, and it’s an archival piece I’ll always treasure.”

The jewellery situation

Minimalist, but personal. Kuruvilla's jewellery collection is all about delicate details—a pair of uncut polki studs from a close friend’s brand called 'Land Of Giants' in Pakistan, mismatched diamond earrings (a moon and a star!) she found in a tucked-away Paris store, and a slim vintage dress watch from the ’60s she won at an auction. “It just slips on,” she says. “So easy, so chic.”

She’s also big on heirlooms—mostly pieces passed down by her mother. “Her taste is so different from mine, but I love that these pieces carry her energy. They’re part of our shared language.”

Shoe story: high and mighty

“I was born in heels,” Kuruvilla says, only half-joking. It's a love affair she shares with her mother—and lucky for her, they’re the same size. Her sister, not so much. (“She’s two sizes bigger and very unhappy about it.”)

Shopping style? Instinct-driven.

Though she’s an art advisor by profession, Kuruvilla shops like an artist—by feel. “I can walk away from something ‘perfect’ and fall head over heels for something totally unexpected,” she says. Her approach is anything but rigid. She’s not chasing trends; in fact, she’s actively reviving one. “I’m bringing back low-rise jeans. I’ve always loved them. There’s something nonchalant and chic about them that high-rise can’t replicate.”

Her favourite shopping cities? London for staples, Milan for vintage, and Jaipur for floaty, breathable cottons. She even has a secret hat shop in East London where the owner personally fits you. “It’s magical,” she says. “I’m trying to up my hat game!”

And finally, how does art shape her fashion?

“It’s completely connected,” she says. “My work is visual, emotional, and instinctive, and that’s exactly how I get dressed.” For her, fashion is less about fitting in and more about reflecting what she’s feeling, who she’s becoming, and where her inner compass is pointing next. It’s all art. Just sometimes, it’s worn with a mismatched earring and killer heels.

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