Aishwarya Rai made her 21st appearance at the Cannes Film Festival red carpet yesterday and, like every year, all eyes were on her to see what she would pull off this time around. Over the years, she has given us memorable looks, like the golden Roberto Cavalli gown she wore in 2014 or the breathtaking Michael Cinco gown from her 2017 appearance that refuses to leave our memories.
This time around, the PS 1 actress kicked off her Cannes 2023 circuit with a bang. Rai chose the hottest trend going around these days: the hooded gown!
The actress wore a Label Sophie Couture aluminium chainmail gown with a gigantic hood at the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
The futuristic gown is in line with Rai’s tendency to be experimental on the Cannes red carpet with exaggerated silhouettes and new trends.
The hooded gown is seemingly everywhere you turn. The trend from the 80s was also spotted on former Victoria’s Secret angel Alessandra Ambrosio at the Cannes Film Festival’s opening ceremony recently when she wore a stunning vintage Elie Saab gown.
The sheer burgundy gown from the label’s Fall/Winter 2005 collection had a sparkly hood and a long train.
While these two icons were making waves with their hooded gowns at the French Riviera, Anne Hathaway was busy proving that she’s fully earned her bombshell goddess credentials in another stunning Versace look. For Bulgari’s Mediterranea High Jewellery celebration in Venice, the Princess Diaries actress wore a slinky golden gown from Versace’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection, complete with a beaded hood framing her face.
Hathaway has been an early adopter of the resurged trend. Back in February, she was spotted wearing a hooded long-sleeved dress from Alaïa’s SS23 collection at the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival.
The trend’s popularity in mainstream fashion can be traced back to 1985 when Grace Jones became the first Bond girl ever to design her own wardrobe. The supermodel collaborated with Azzedine Alaïa for her onscreen and offscreen wardrobe and the slinky hooded gown became her signature look.
Bella Hadid recently wore a hooded gown from Alaïa’s 1986 collection at an event in Qatar and Margot Robbie wore a knitted hooded mini dress by the same label at the Los Angeles premiere of Babylon.
Over the years, many designers have presented their versions of the quietly dramatic trend, including Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, and Issey Miyake.
The trend has become a red carpet favourite. If you recall, Priyanka Chopra’s 2018 Met Gala ensemble by Ralph Lauren featured a gold beaded hood and Tessa Thompson made her way to Best Dressed lists across the world with her scarlet hooded Elie Saab gown at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.
It’s become clear that the trend is back and it’s not going anywhere!
