When I actually sat to trace back to the first time I saw Aishwarya Rai Bachchan attend the Cannes Film Festival, I realised she has been going ever since I was an 8-year-old i.e. from the year 2002.  Yup, that is. a whole 16 years! And even 16 years later, she hasn’t failed to make a lasting impact on her audience with every look she dons. Being a Bollywood actress and global star, Aishwarya brought her A game, each time for sixteen years, back-to-back. Sure, sometimes when we look at her outfits from 10 years ago, we might make fun of how she looked. But do stop and think about how her looks have always been on trend and in vogue, considering the season she was in.

So we dug deep into the archives of Instagram and other sources to find every head-turning look Aishwarya pulled off at the Cannes Film Festival. From her appearance with husband Abhishek Bachchan to her purple lipstick breaking the internet, here’s everything you need to see from Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s 16 year-long journey at Cannes!

2002

Aishwarya made her Cannes debut in a beautiful canary yellow Neeta Lulla sari and stayed desi to the T with her jewellery too.

2003

She wore a Neeta Lulla lehenga, the following year as well and faced much hate for the unflattering look.

2004

She stuck with the same designer but pulled out all the stops when it came to making a subtly sexy statement.

2005

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan kept it simple and fresh in this printed Giorgio Armani dress.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2015 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2015 (Source: Shutterstock)

2006

In 2006, Ash went minimal glam with her classy navy blue strapless gown.

2007

She made her first appearance with husband Abhishek Bachchan in a pristine white Giorgio Armani dress.

2008

She continued to keep it minimally glam. Making her statement with one shimmery outfit after another.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2008 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2008 (Source: Shutterstock)

2009

Roberto Cavalli‘s floor-sweeping gown had all our attention on the red carpet in 2009.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2009 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2009 (Source: Shutterstock)

2010

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was the definition of grace in this Elie Saab creation, don’t you think?

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2010 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2010 (Source: Shutterstock)

2011

She wore Elie Saab the following year as well in a basic yet statement-making way.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2011 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2011 (Source: Shutterstock)

2012

After recently having her baby, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wasn’t afraid to flaunt her curves in this beautifully detailed, sparkly Elie Saab.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2012 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2012 (Source: Shutterstock)

2013

She went back to her roots with this look with an intricately embroidered Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla creation.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2013 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2013 (Source: Shutterstock)

2014

Simple and chic with a touch of glam defined Aishwarya’s 2014 Cannes red carpet look in Roberto Cavalli.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2014 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2014 (Source: Shutterstock)

2015

Glammed up and How! We love this unconventional silhouette and design Aishwarya wore from Ralph & Russo.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2015 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2015 (Source: Shutterstock)

2016

Aishwarya looked like a total goddess on the red carpet in 2016 wearing this Elie Saab look.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2015 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2015 (Source: Shutterstock)

2017

Aishwarya made her presence known at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017 with her MAJOR cinderella moment in Michael Cinco.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2017 (Source: Shutterstock)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, 2017 (Source: Shutterstock)

2018

Her glam-chic moment in the same designer this year was oh-so-tasteful and statement-making.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Source: Instagram | @aasthasharma)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Source: Instagram | @aasthasharma)

Which one of these looks was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.

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