The Cannes Film Festival ended Saturday night with its traditional awards ceremony, where Romanian director Cristian Mungiu won the top prize for his film Fjord. The final evening drew quite a few famous stars, including Stella Maxwell in an embellished Gucci dress, Tilda Swinton in a red Chanel gown and Penélope Cruz in an elegant vintage dress by Lebanese designer Georges Chakra.
A few days earlier, a “fashion duel” unfolded on the red carpet at the screening of De Gaulle, which was shown out of competition: Bar Refaeli appeared in a silver Armani Privé dress, while Bella Hadid arrived in a white Schiaparelli haute couture gown. It is possible the festival’s PR team understood the viral potential of inviting the two stars — one Israeli, the other of Palestinian descent — and the conversation their presence would spark.
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The biggest fashion star of the Cannes Film Festival. Demi Moore wears Gucci
(Photo: Valery HACHE/AFP)
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Swept-up hair and a flattering silhouette. Bar Refaeli
(Photo: Benjamin Cremel/Getty Images)
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Penélope Cruz in an elegant vintage dress by Lebanese designer Georges Chakra
(Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
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Enjoying a thrilling red-carpet comeback in recent years. Sharon Stone
(Photo: Aurore Marechal/Getty Images)
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Black and white. Kristen Stewart, Emma Mackey and Charlotte Le Bon
(Photo: Aurore Marechal/Getty Images)
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The kind of look people will be talking about for years to come. Renate Reinsve
(Photo: Kate Green/Getty Images)
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Delivered one of Cannes’ most surreal moments of the week. Lizzo
(Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images for amfAR)
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A combination of humor and elegance. Taylor Russell
(Photo: Kate Green/Getty Images)
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Vicky Krieps and Andy Garcia at the Cannes Film Festival
(Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
Another viral moment came courtesy of French-Russian actress Anastasia Andrushkevich, who arrived at the premiere of Fjord in a fashion tribute to Princess Diana and the iconic pale blue dress she wore at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, designed by Catherine Walker, who remained Diana’s personal designer until her death a decade later.
Andrushkevich wore a pale blue dress by Mehmet Özden that looked almost identical to the mythic original, reviving one of Diana’s most memorable Cannes looks. The original dress was already considered a cinematic homage at the time, as it was inspired by Grace Kelly’s gown in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 film To Catch a Thief. Over the years, the dress became a true collector’s item and was previously sold at auction for $137,500, about NIS 400,000.
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Anastasia Andrushkevich in a fashion tribute to Princess Diana
(Photo: Aurore Marechal/Getty Images)
This year’s festival was held under the shadow of the dress code Cannes published last year, which barred stars from appearing on the red carpet in transparent dresses, nudity, dramatic necklines and long trains that had often blocked the stairs leading into the screening halls.
This time, instead of disappearing altogether, the revealing trend changed form, with dresses featuring flesh-toned tulle, plunging corsets and plays on transparency seen more than once. After 10 days of films, evening gowns and famous stars, we gathered the unforgettable appearances — the ones people will be talking about all year.
Demi Moore does not stop
Two years ago, Demi Moore shook up the Cannes red carpet with her film The Substance and a series of excellent appearances. This year, she attended the festival as a member of the jury, armed with stylist Brad Goreski and a container’s worth of unforgettable evening gowns that made her the talk of the day.
One of Moore’s most discussed dresses, which points to a sense of self-humor, was a fuchsia crinoline dress combined with an enormous gift bow by the fashion house Matières Fécales. The highly theatrical look revealed Moore’s courage in embracing experimental fashion. She also was not afraid of volume, as proved by a cobalt blue Self-Portrait dress and a Balenciaga gown designed by Pierpaolo Piccioli, complete with a voluminous capelet, chosen for the closing night.
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Demi Moore wears Pierpaolo Piccioli for Balenciaga
(Photo: Aurore Marechal/Getty Images)
The rest of the successful dresses she wore this week were designed by Demna for Gucci, and it seems that while his ready-to-wear line may be faltering, on the red carpet he is delivering. Moore changed into a black evening gown with a fur scarf and black mask sunglasses, a red tube dress with a raised sculptural collar and a purple off-the-shoulder organza dress in which she looked as if she had wrapped herself in cling film.
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Demi Moore wears a dress designed by Demna for Gucci
(Photo: REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier)
Sharon Stone wears Sophie Couture
Demi Moore was not the only one who arrived at Cannes wrapped like a gift. Actress Sharon Stone, who has been enjoying a thrilling red-carpet comeback in recent years, delivered drama in black with an evening gown by Azerbaijani designer Gunel Babayeva, who works under the Sophie Couture label.
Heidi Klum and her son coordinate outfits
Heidi Klum was present in Cannes throughout the past week and a half. At last week’s amfAR gala, she arrived with her 20-year-old son, Henry Samuel, from her marriage to singer Seal, to whom she was married from 2005 to 2014. Klum wore a tight Sophie Couture corset dress made up of a balloon skirt and a semi-sheer front-laced corset, while her son chose a matching look with a black jacket adorned with gold leaves and no shirt underneath.
Renate Reinsve wears Louis Vuitton
Actress Renate Reinsve, whose film Fjord won Cannes’ top prize Saturday night, arrived at the closing ceremony in silver Louis Vuitton trousers and a “dangerous” black top. It was the kind of look people will be talking about for years to come.
Bar Refaeli wears Armani Privé and Stella McCartney
Bar Refaeli arrived in Cannes with her close friend Valentina Micchetti and two flattering evening dresses. For the screening of De Gaulle, she appeared in a sensual silver strapless gown from Armani’s haute couture line. The swept-up hair and narrow silhouette created an unforgettable look, as did the nod to the 1980s in a lavender Stella McCartney dress, which she wore to the amfAR gala in support of the fight against AIDS.
Lizzo wears Robert Wun
Singer Lizzo provided Cannes with one of the week’s most surreal moments when she arrived at the amfAR gala in a cobalt blue strapless dress by designer Robert Wun. The mermaid-silhouette gown incorporated elements such as a simulated piercing around the chest and theatrical gloves that looked like an extra pair of hands, turning the look into one of the most talked-about of the week. Vogue named her appearance one of Cannes’ fashion highlights.
Bella Hadid wears Schiaparelli haute couture
Model Bella Hadid paid tribute to actress Jane Birkin in one of the week’s viral moments. Hadid chose a white lace dress by Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli, with a plunging neckline and close-fitting silhouette, as a direct homage to the Pucci dress Birkin wore to a Paris gala in 1969.
Vicky Krieps wears Bottega Veneta
German-Luxembourgish actress Vicky Krieps is emerging as the challenging dresser of film festivals and red carpets. She does it through unexpected wardrobe choices that undermine concepts such as taste and glamour. She arrived in Cannes in a variety of successful looks, with a fuzzy evening gown and a relaxed daytime outfit standing out above the rest — both designed by Louise Trotter for Bottega Veneta.
Kristen Stewart wears Chanel
One of Cannes’ refreshing appearances came from a surprising direction: actress Kristen Stewart, usually a fairly average and predictable dresser. This week, Stewart arrived at the press conference for the film Full Phil wearing a skirt suit designed by Matthieu Blazy for Chanel, who took the brand’s classic tweed suit and dismantled it into a contemporary, light, sheer and airy look.
Charlotte Gainsbourg wears Saint Laurent
In recent seasons, designer Anthony Vaccarello, the creative director of Saint Laurent, has been returning to the fashion house’s 1980s archive in an attempt to redefine that aesthetic. It does not always work for him. One only had to glance this week at the extinguished expression on actress Charlotte Gainsbourg’s face when she arrived at the screening of Fjord in an overly fussy ensemble of lace and satin in shades of purple and mustard. Bad taste is a much more interesting concept than good taste — this time, it simply looked like a mistake.
Marion Cotillard wears Chanel
Matthieu Blazy for Chanel strikes again. Actress Marion Cotillard arrived at the screening of Karma, in which she stars, wearing a black leather dress studded with gold Chanel logo buckles. The result was sexy and elegant at the same time. On almost anyone else, however, it could have ended up looking like a black trash bag.
Dita Von Teese wears Tamara Ralph Couture
Burlesque artist Dita Von Teese appeared in a strapless dress with a pointed corset by Australian designer Tamara Ralph. The dress suited Von Teese’s theatrical style, and at another Cannes event, she arrived armed with a feathered headpiece and a stone-studded dress that reminded us of Mata Hari.
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Dita Von Teese with a feathered headpiece and a stone-studded dress
(Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
Cate Blanchett wears Sarah Burton for Givenchy
Actress Cate Blanchett traded red-carpet drama this year for a floral fringe dress by Givenchy. What might have looked on others like a Bukharan velvet blanket became, on her, a confident, relaxed and precise fashion statement.
Charlotte Le Bon wears Dior
Actresses wearing “masculine” pantsuits are nothing new in Cannes, or on the red carpet in general. The look worn by Canadian actress and director Charlotte Le Bon offered a relaxed and sexy approach. For the screening of the French comedy Full Phil, she chose a white pantsuit with a vest from which her navel peeked out, adding sensuality and cheek.
Juliette Binoche wears Celine
A dandy on platforms. Actress Juliette Binoche continues to flirt with masculine suits, this time by Celine, in an appearance that looked like a cross between a 19th-century dandy and Neo from The Matrix.
Lisa Rinna wears Germanier
Socialite Lisa Rinna delivered a campy appearance in a colorful feathered dress by Swiss designer Kevin Germanier.
Tilda Swinton wears Chanel
Actress Tilda Swinton has a dress code of her own: androgynous, relaxed and groundbreaking. For this year’s festival, she chose a fluid pantsuit in gradated colors designed by Matthieu Blazy for Chanel. Apparently, even a peeling wall can look like a masterpiece.
Isabelle Huppert wears Gucci
Actress Isabelle Huppert changed into quite a few outfits and evening gowns on the Cannes red carpet, but of them all, it was the red evening gown with an open fan-shaped bodice designed by Demna for Gucci that stole the show. Her Chopard diamond jewelry tied the look together with precision.
Julianne Moore wears Bottega Veneta
You are at your most beautiful when you are comfortable. Julianne Moore arrived at one of Cannes’ satellite events wearing a pair of red Bottega Veneta flip-flops, which created an amusing and knowing contrast with the black skirt suit she had wrapped herself in. Some saw it as a smart, self-aware move connected to the comfort-shoe trend and to the past choices of many actresses to take off their heels on the red carpet. Others argued it looked more like a styling mistake.
As a reminder, one of the festival’s most viral moments came exactly a decade ago, when actress Julia Roberts left her heels at the hotel and defiantly walked barefoot on the Cannes red carpet. Kristen Stewart also removed her heels in front of the cameras and continued barefoot in protest of the unofficial requirement to wear heels, while Jennifer Lawrence has been documented over the years taking off her shoes or switching to flats during the festival.
Emma Mackey wears Louis Vuitton
Emma Mackey wore a minimalist white halter dress by Louis Vuitton that looked like a reference to the unforgettable dress worn by Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.
Taylor Russell wears Dior and Schiaparelli
How we missed Taylor Russell on the red carpet. The white bustle dress designed by Jonathan Anderson for Dior combined humor and elegance, thanks to the green “bush” planted on the back of the dress. For the morning press conference, she chose a black dress by Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli that looked like a dark interpretation of Issey Miyake’s early designs.
