STYLE EVOLUTION

Deepika Padukone, India’s Leading Actress, Has an Impressive Style Worth Following


"Loveless (Nelyubov)" Red Carpet Arrivals - The 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival
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Deepika Padukone is one of the highest paid actresses in the world, but if you don’t recognize her name, you’re not alone: Though Padukone has a cult following in her native India, making for over 17 million followers on Instagram and over 18 million on Twitter, she’s just beginning to step into the spotlight in America. That’s thanks in large part to her red carpet style lately, which has been on a roll since the beginning of this year with the string of premieres following her first Hollywood film, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, and picked up even more speed this past week at the Cannes Film Festival, where Padukone’s four to five looks a day have included a trailing forest green Brandon Maxwell gown topped off with massive ear cuffs to a gauzy princess dress by Marchesa. It was in fact Padukone’s second outing in the south of France: she made her festival debut in 2010 in a traditional nine-yard sari—a signature nod to her roots that Padukone’s new stylist Elizabeth Saltzman, who also works with names like Gwyneth Paltrow, is now doing her best to carry through to her growing western audience. (“We’re having fun at the moment, playing with mixing the cultures,” Saltzman said, of combining the “Cinderella dresses” and colors favored in India with the more minimalist designers Saltzman is used to working with, like Maxwell.) In any case, you’ll no doubt be seeing even more of Padukone on the red carpet soon. See how the actress’s Met Gala ensemble just a few weeks ago compares to her earlier looks with her style evolution, here.

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Deepika Padukone tops off her floor-length belted gown with a tasseled sheer shawl at the world premiere of her film Om Shanti Om in London, November 2007.

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Deepika Padukone steps out in a sheer sari with an aquamarine bra to a screening of Chandni Chowk to China in California, January 2009.

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Deepika Padukone suits up in sequins for the launch of the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar in Mumbai, December 2009.

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Deepika Padukone makes her debut at the Cannes Film Festival in a white and gold embroidered sari by Rohit Bal at the premiere of On the Tour, May 2010.

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Deepika Padukone wears nearly head-to-toe lace Zuhair Murad at the 2014 International Indian Film Academy Awards Awards in Tampa, Florida, April 2014.

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Deepika Padukone spreads out her cut-out gown at HT Mumbai’s 2015 Most Stylish Awards ceremony in Mumbai, March 2015.

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Deepika Padukone heads to the 2016 International Indian Film Academy Awards in Madrid in a white Sabyasachi Mukherjee ensemble inspired by Spanish bullfighters, June 2016.

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Deepika Padukone opted to wear an Indian deseigner, Monisha Jaisingh—not to mention some statement tassel earrings—to the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 2016.

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Deepika Padukone is a vision in yellow in a one-shouldered Ralph Lauren Collection gown at the 2017 InStyle and Warner Bros. 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards Post-Party, January 2017.

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Deepika Padukone continues making her rounds for xXx: Return of Xander Cage in a custom one-shouldered Ralph & Russo gown at the film’s Hollywood premiere, January 2017.

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Deepika Padukone matches the red carpet in Stella McCartney at the European premiere of xXx: Return of Xander Cage in London, January 2017.

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Deepika Padukone reps Michael Kors Collection at the fall 2017 Michael Kors Collection show in New York, February 2017.

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Deepika Padukone stands out in floral Duro Olowu amidst the Chanel-clad crowd at Charles Finch and Chanel’s Pre-Oscar Awards Dinner in Los Angeles, February 2017.

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Deepika Padukone again suits up in sequins, this time by Monique Lhuillier, at the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter in Beverly Hills, February 2017.

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Deepika Padukone opts for Tommy Hilfiger and a crown of Leighton Jewels instead of Comme des Garçon at the Met Gala for “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between” in New York, May 2017.

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Deepika Padukone does her duty as ambassador of L’Oréal Paris by stepping out in puff shoulders to unveil their “Cannes Collection” in Mumbai, May 2017.

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Deepika Padukone wears a rare pair of (quilted) pants to the Mexico City Premiere of xXx: Return of Xander Cage, January 2017.

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Deepika Padukone sweeps the red carpet in a deep green Brandon Maxwell gown with a trailing train for a screening of Loveless (Nelyubov) at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, May 2017.

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Deepika Padukone kicks off the 2017 Cannes Film Festival by heading to a screening of Ismael’s Ghosts (Les Fantomes d’Ismael) in gauzy fall 2017 Marchesa, May 2017.