For her second red carpet appearance at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, Bollywood legend Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wore a custom-made couture piece by designer Gaurav Gupta.
Gupta, who recently dressed Kiara Advani for the 2025 Met Gala in New York, shared images of Aishwarya on his official Instagram handle Thursday evening.
The ensemble, titled "Heiress of Clam," stunningly combined cosmic themes with ancient Indian heritage and spiritual symbolism. It presented a sculptural, draped gown that was embellished with intricate hand embroidery to present an abstract universe.
The creation had bold accents in silver, gold, charcoal, and black, complemented by fine micro glass crystals that sparkled under the lights.
A Banarasi brocade cape, which was handwoven in Varanasi and featuring a Sanskrit shloka from the Bhagavad Gita, added a dash of tradition to the futuristic outfit.
The couture piece was "imagined in draped form and spiritual detail," said Gupta. Aishwarya has stepped out on the red carpet here yesterday for this year's Cannes, when she wore an ivory handloom Banarasi saree designed by Manish Malhotra.
The 78th Cannes Film Festival is featuring a robust Indian presence, with director Payal Kapadia being part of the main competition jury.
On Wednesday, cinema legends Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal graced the world premiere of Satyajit Ray's recently restored classic "Aranyer Din Ratri" (1970). Director Neeraj Ghaywan, on the other hand, unveiled his film "Homebound" under the Un Certain Regard category with actors Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and producer Karan Johar in attendance.
