by Unofficial fashion week, the Cannes film festival is turning the southern French city into one big photo opportunity this week.
Always considered the most fashionable of all film festivals, the link was confirmed this year: the relatively new film production department of the Saint Laurent fashion house will premiere three titles.
With light weather and an unashamed enthusiasm for comedy, it’s an opportunity for many of the world’s most sought-after celebrities to walk the red carpet time and time again in an operatic wardrobe. Because while awards season red carpets and the Met Gala provide one night of glamour, Cannes offers two weeks.
Related: ‘Stronger than ever’: Cannes meets film and glamor in the unofficial fashion week
Thanks to interview duties and press calls, as well as the paparazzi outside hotels and the nearby Nice airport, the festival also gives celebrities the opportunity to show their day clothes: the sunglasses, casual Breton tops, jeans and trainers.
And while the Croissette might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of inspiration for your own wardrobe this summer, there are plenty of adjustable fashion moments too, from Kristen Stewart wearing her heels and going Barefoot in 2018 to Jennifer. Lawrence in flip-flops last year.
With fun plus relatability, comes inspiration. As fashion writer Vanessa Friedman once said: “The opening ceremony is like Pavlov’s bell: it rings, and we start dressing.” After all, it was in Cannes that Jane Birkin launched years worth of basket bags, now a summer perennial.
With the first week in full swing, here’s what has stood out sartorially so far, what could be down and what could stay on the riviera.
Cape
Brazen and more than life, it is essential, the Cape train is not, which is the most common way to telegraph drama on the red carpet. From Helena Christensen looking like a Tolkienian princess in Vivienne Westwood to the French producer and executive Nicolas Seydoux in pink flowers, stars at this year’s festival are wearing caps that were either extremely blunt or elegant and embellished. Jane Fonda even shoulder-robes, making her coat Cape. The opportunity to be photographed like a super hero creates an old fashioned red carpet show.
Vintage
While it doesn’t seem like there’s been much vintage on the red carpet yet, this archival look is worth mentioning. At the premiere of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, supermodel Naomi Campbell wore a Chanel couture dress she first wore for the Chanel haute couture show in 1996, styled by celebrity stylist Law Roach. Having your own back catalog to draw on is a huge boost when vintage hunters are increasingly seeking obscure looks from fashion annals for such events.
Hats
For significant daywear, hats rule, especially Anya Taylor-Joy’s pizza-sized Jacquemus straw hat, which is perfect for neck shade. Meryl Streep is the perfect inspiration for the summer of 2024 the summer of 2024 because of Meryl Streep in a white suit, striped shirt and sun hat. And French singer and model Yseult showed how a well-chosen hat can be the perfect foil for the makeup-melting Mediterranean sun – optional statement fans.
Men’s clothing as women’s clothing
Thank God the traditional gender boundaries in fashion, and women in suits – men in nail polish and skirts – are no big deal if ever there was. However, it’s still notable that a few names chose to wear outfits that seemed to defy preconceived notions of women’s looks, including Lebanese director Nadine Labaki in a bowtie and the French actress Emmanuelle Béart, president of Camera D’. Or a jury, who wore a Paul Smith suit complete with a nonchalantly wonky tie. Perfect inspiration for wedding guest wear this summer.
Extreme sweetheart necklines
From actresses Elsa Pataky and Greta Gerwig in Armani Privé to French model and former Miss France Maëva Coucke, the coy, buttery sweetheart neckline has its place in art history cemented by John Singer Sargent’s 1883-4 portrait of Madame X, turning up the mercury this week. Not content to dip a little, celebrities are donning belly button-grazing sweets. It’s also, in line with a broader era for garments that are part Man Ray and part high fashion, built on sculptural bends.
Dressing discombobulating
From the waist up, French actor Omar Sy and comedian Omar Sy’s outfit might look, at least by Cannes standards, but from the waist down the print is like a magic eye. Model Alton Mason looked stunning walking static in his Louis Gabriel Nouchi suit. The Italian film director Roberto Minervini seemed almost pixelated. In our screen-soaked era, the thought of visual productions, especially at one of the most photographed and shared events in the world, feels fun and exciting.
