The behind-the-scenes scramble to dress the biggest A-listers at Cannes
It’s impossible to predict what a celebrity may wear at the Cannes Film Festival because, to maximise the drama, details of their finery are always kept secret until all is revealed on the red carpet. But as the 77th annual event starts on Tuesday, one thing is more certain; a protest will likely kick off.
An uproar could come from the #MeToo movement, given that Mediapart, the French investigative online newspaper, has threatened to publish the names of 10 actors and directors accused of sexual abuse, including some whose films are set to debut. A group of festival workers are also calling for a general strike because of the “‘precarious’ position of its freelance staff”. With the Israel-Hamas and Russo-Ukrainian wars raging, Cannes could also be used as a stage by activists.
Cannes is used to protest – from 2018’s powerful #MeToo demonstration, in the wake of film mogul Harvey Weinstein’s arrest for rape, to last year, when Ukranian influencer Ilona Chernobai drenched herself in fake blood on the steps of Cannes Palais. Who could forget, also, 2015’s #Flatgate – some women attending the premiere of Carol were ejected for wearing flat shoes instead of high heels, making global headlines.
Certainly, any action will not threaten to halt the business of glamour at this event. Major players in every luxury field (fashion, jewellery and watches, cosmetics, footwear and accessories) utilise all areas of the festival – from the red carpet to its press conferences, as well as the parties taking place at beach clubs and aboard yachts – as backdrops to showcase their spring-summer collections on the actors, models and influencers who are a part of the scene.
Cannes is “the most media-tized event after the football World Cup,” as Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s co-president and artistic director, who designed the coveted Palme d’Or prize, puts it.
Another reason why Cannes is an all-important moment on the fashion calendar is because films premiering there often receive Oscar nominations. Cannes typically kickstarts Oscar campaign strategising for the year to come, and the festival is a crucial place for luxury’s finest to work with celebrities who are contractually obliged to wear their garb (known as “brand ambassadors”) and also scout around for fresh talent whose flair and charisma can entice “tomorrow’s clients” to shop. After Gaël Morel’s Vivre, mourir, renaître (To Live, To Die, To Live Again), made the cut for the festival’s Official Selection, for example, Chanel signed Lou Lampros, the 22-year-old French actress who stars in the romantic drama.
“You see all the fashion brands almost fighting to get actors wearing their clothes at Cannes,” explains Carine Roitfeld, the former editor of Vogue France. “With Instagram today, the red carpet is a phenomenon and it can generate a huge profit for brands.”
For sheer glamour, some say that the Met Gala now rivals Cannes – although the former is one night, and the latter can offer several key red carpet moments. These include the festival’s splashy debut of its opening night film – when an international troupe of actresses and models, who are ambassadors for L’Oréal Paris, the festival’s official makeup sponsor – preen for the paparazzi, and the Cinema Against AIDS event.
The annual charity auction raises money for the Foundation for Aids Research. Roitfeld has curated its style components since 2012, casting models who appear on the red carpet outside the event’s fabled venue, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. She also curates the runway show which warms up the crowd before the bidding starts.
Considering whether the Met Gala and Cannes vye with one another, Roitfeld says diplomatically: “It’s not a competition. But it is, a bit. The models [for the Foundation for Aids Research] want to appear as their most beautiful selves and have great pictures.”
Protests aside, staging red carpet photos and video footage at any film festival is more complicated than ever because, with social media, everyone’s a critic, argues Cameron Silver. The retailer, who consults for Balmain and Dolce & Gabbana, acknowledges that publicity from a major red carpet moment like Cannes sells “fragrance and small items like accessories and handbags [for brands]. A beautiful piece of jewellery worn by a modern icon, like Cate Blanchett, may appear very attractive to a discriminating client.
“But we are in a very difficult time where everything – what people say and do – is analysed, so there can be liabilities on both ends,” he adds.
During an interview on the red carpet at Cannes in 2008, Sharon Stone, a Dior ambassador, mentioned that an earthquake which had recently struck China’s Sichuan Province was “the result of ‘bad karma’ over Beijing’s occupation of Tibet….” She later explained her comments were in support of the Dalai Lama, the head of Tibetan Buddhism. For Dior, China was too crucial a luxury market to disrupt… the brand soon distanced itself from the star.
Increasingly, actors are appearing on the red carpet in looks inspired by films they are promoting – known as “method dressing”. While it was dreamed up in Old Hollywood, promotional tours for a slew of recent films – including Barbie, Challengers, Dune and Wicked – have made “method dressing” a red carpet fashion phenomenon. It’s fun to watch and given that it’s all about film promotion, it’s a safe styling option for Cannes this year and appropriate, given the festival operates one of the largest annual film finance and sales markets.
For the premiere of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Anya Taylor-Joy should make another outing in the “post-apocalyptic press tour style” which her “image architect” Law Roach has masterminded for her.
Celebrity stylist Jessica Paster explains that the premiere looks she is dreaming up for her clients, Aubrey Plaza and Maria Bakalova, will reference their competition films. Bakalova portrays Ivana Trump in The Apprentice, Ali Abbasi’s biographical drama about the former president of the United States’ 1980s New York heyday as a real estate mogul. “For Maria, it will be about power dressing,” says Paster.
Plaza has a supporting role in one of the festival’s most anticipated films, Megalopolis. Francis Ford Coppola’s “passion project”, a sci-fi Roman epic, features a masterly wardrobe by the Oscar-winning costume designer, Milena Canonero. “For Aubrey I’m referencing the past and the future,” says Paster.
Barbie’s director, Greta Gerwig, helms Cannes’ jury, which counts Lily Gladstone, Eva Green and Lebanese-Canadian filmmaker Nadine Labaki as members. Given the current uneasy mood, the female jurors may wear black or trouser suits to the premieres. In formal situations, the low key dress mode symbolises allegiance with #MeToo – although it goes against the sartorial spirit of Cannes.
“[Gerwig] has a lot of choices,” a source tells me.
