The Bollywood star arrived on the red carpet in an avant-garde creation by Sophie Couture
Aishwarya Rai has finally made her appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, and it was well worth the wait. The Indian actress, who has been one of the reigning red carpet queens of the event for the last two decades, arrived at the film screening of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on May 18 in an ensemble that glittered even more than the French Riviera coastline.
The Bollywood star was a futuristic vision in her silver hooded gown, a custom creation by Azerbaijan-based fashion label Sophie Couture. The dramatic outfit, seemingly out of a sci-fi movie, was topped with an oversized hood that framed Rai’s face and wrapped around her shoulders. The dress featured a mermaid skirt that flared out onto the red carpet; the whole look was tied together with a black bow.
A closer look at the metallic dress, as shared by Sophie Couture, reveals that the ensemble was put together with an elaborate aluminium chainmail—very much in the design tradition popularised by the late French designer Paco Rabanne—and sprinkled with crystals. Considering that her dress was made out of metal, Rai carried herself with remarkable grace.
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With her avant-garde ensemble, Rai nails two fashion trends that have dominated the Cannes Film Festival 2023 so far. Firstly, the metallic trend, which has encompassed everything from silver embellishments to all-over sequins, as in the case of supermodel Naomi Campbell’s Celine dress. Actress Elle Fanning, meanwhile, was spotted in an elegant Alexander McQueen gown that featured a bodice covered in sparkling bead and crystal embroidery.
The other celebrity fashion trend that is currently having its moment on the red carpet, even far beyond Cannes, is the hooded gown. Model Alessandra Ambrosio attended the opening of the festival in a vintage Elie Saab dress that exuded glamour with its sequin embellishments and an open hood that ended in the plunging neckline of her dress. Across the ocean, Anne Hathaway sported a similar look—this time by Versace—at Bulgari’s high jewellery event in Venice.
It wasn’t the first time that Hathaway has championed the silhouette, and she’s not alone in her penchant for covering up. In the past year alone, the hooded gown has been seen on stars like Bella Hadid, Margot Robbie, Simone Ashley and Rihanna, who stole the spotlight at the Met Gala 2023 in a white Valentino hood covered in gigantic flowers.
