The Cannes Film Festival has the largest red carpet in the world. The event’s roster of premieres and parties has enhanced the film industry while presenting style lovers with an almost unending choice of spectacular attire for the past 75 years.
The dress code in Cannes is well-known and possibly outdated, but it has ensured the festival’s status as the leading showcase for haute couture and opulent diamonds. Cannes is hardly a laid-back place. You don’t get to walk the steps of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in sneakers unless you’re this year’s inimitable cool jury president, Spike Lee.
In 2020 there were no premieres or parties due to the coronavirus pandemic and its travel bans, but this year the event comes roaring back.
With a jury that includes chic international talent like French-Senegalese director Mati Diop, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, and Tahar Rahim, the fashion was bound to be good, but guests were already exceeding expectations. From the moment Gyllenhaal walked into day on’’s first photocell in a sleek Hedi Slimane-designed black trousers and tube-top combo from Celine, things were off and running.
Opening night at the world premiere of Leo Carax’s Annette, there were impressive outfits as far as the eye could see. Jessica Chastain delivered gothic vibes in a corseted Christian Dior Haute Couture gown paired with nearly 200 carats worth of Chopard rubies, while Lou Doillon twirled in Gucci’s gold lamé.
Step up the staircase, and you’d find Bella Hadid posing in vintage Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture, nearly stealing the show from the movie stars. Not to be outdone, Annette’s star Marion Cotillard dazzled in a silver, tea-length Chanel Haute Couture look with so much sparkle it gleamed once the paparazzi began to snap Cotillard’s picture. All in all, it was a thrilling return to form and proof that the red carpet magic lives on.
