Cannes 2025: Parul Gulati wraps up her debut with a futuristic take on the saree

Parul Gulati closed her dazzling Cannes Film Festival debut not just with fashion, but with fire—cementing her status as both a red carpet disruptor and a marketing maverick. Known for founding her own hair extension brand, Parul’s first appearance at Cannes made global headlines when she walked the red carpet in a custom ensemble made entirely of human hair—an audacious, head-turning homage to her entrepreneurial roots.

Couture, courage, and Cannes

For her final look, Parul took the sari—a symbol of tradition—and catapulted it into the future. Styled by Mohit Rai and designed by Riddhi Bansal, she wore a custom Banarasi tissue sari suspended in resin, sculpted to create a liquid-metal illusion that shimmered like a dream. The sheer, metallic fabric clung to her body like art in motion—equal parts couture, culture, and rebellion. It was Indian craftsmanship reimagined for the global stage, and Parul owned every frame of it.

Reflecting on her journey to Cannes, Parul shared an emotional note: “When COVID hit in 2020, it nearly shattered my acting dreams. I was this close to giving up. I kept rewatching La La Land—Emma Stone’s line, ‘Maybe I’m not good enough,’ felt like my own voice. So many auditions, so few callbacks... the sting is real.”

But the full-circle moment came when she sat in a Cannes theatre watching Emma Stone again—this time not from a place of doubt, but triumph. “To breathe the same air as someone who unknowingly carried me through my lowest… this wasn’t just a screening. It was a reminder that I held on long enough to see this dream come true.”

From heartbreak to headlines, from resilience to resin-draped runway looks—Parul Gulati didn’t just make her Cannes debut. She made a statement, loud and clear: the dreamers who refuse to quit eventually write the most unforgettable stories.