4 min readUpdated: Mar 10, 2026 09:19 AM IST
Aishwarya Rai was just 21 when she created history by being crowned Miss World in the year 1994. The title marked a defining moment in her life, opening several doors for her, including opportunities in films. Aishwarya was already a successful model in India and was being appraoched by filmmakers before she won the international pageant but after her win, she became one of the biggest celebrities in the country, even before appearing in a film. Recently, celebrity stylist Ashley Rebello recalled the time he styled Aishwarya long before she became the global icon she is today.
‘Aishwarya was uncomfortable wearing a backless dress’
Talking about one incident from her early days, when she felt uncomfortable wearing a backless dress, he told at the podcast Beyond the Frame with Avinash Tripathi, “Actually, when I first met her, she wasn’t ‘the Aishwarya Rai’ yet; she was just a simple girl. The first advertisement she did was a suiting campaign, and at that time, I used to conduct trials in my bedroom. Our first meeting happened when she came to my house for her fitting, and it was a backless dress. She asked, ‘Will I have to wear a dress like this?’ And I told her, ‘Yes, what’s the problem with it?’”
He further added: “I remember she was very young and in the middle of her college days. She had come for the trial with her mother. Her mother said that the dress was too revealing. But I told her, ‘No, aunty, don’t worry. These ad films shoot everything very aesthetically, nothing will happen, and I’m here.’ I told her to first see the fitting and be happy with it. She was convinced, and from that point onward, I feel she developed a sense of trust in me.”
‘I gave her 20 sarees for Miss World’
Rebello explained that this trust eventually turned into a long-term working relationship. When Aishwarya went to participate in the Miss World pageant, he designed around 20 sarees for her. “When she went for Miss World, I gave her at least 20 sarees. I made chiffon sarees in different colours: rani pink, yellow, turquoise blue, black, white, and red. I also gave her lots of bangles and matching bindis and told her that when you go for breakfast every day, you must wear a new saree.”
He revealed that the advice had an unexpected impact. Some time later, Aishwarya called him from the competition and said, “I can’t tell you how every morning everyone just wants to see which colour saree I will wear today. Everyone has been asking me for my bindis, so all my bindis are finished and all my bangles are gone. My mother is coming, so please send more with her. That’s when I realised that she is not just beautiful but also such a nice person.”
Meanwhile, film producer Shailendra Singh, known for backing films like Firaaq, Phir Milenge, and Page 3, also recently spoke about Aishwarya’s early days in advertising. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, he shared, “I spotted Aishwarya when she was 18 or 19 at Marine Drive, if I recall correctly. She came to meet Kunal Kapoor and me at 8:30 at night with her parents. She was just 18 or 19, and she did our first three advertisements for just Rs 5,000. She was first, I think, an extra tied to a pole in Mukesh Mills for a commercial. Then she did a Ghrit Kumari Hair Oil ad with Malvika Tiwari, and then another commercial with Arjun Rampal. That’s how she started.”
