A brilliantly bonkers blend of jewellery sponsors, bespoke ballgown opportunities and beauty ambassadorships, Cannes Film Festival is like the couture fashion Olympics. Categories include biggest diamonds, best model naked dress moment, and commendations for the red-carpet renegades who, despite the antiquated governing body’s best efforts, wear bare feet, instead of heels on the red carpet.
We jest, but the Croisette is a place where there are several stringent rules, but also seemingly no rules at all. Hollywood’s finest lean into French Riviera chic with maximalist glamour akin to the Met Gala – or Ascot, as per one Vogue staffer perplexed at the amount of hats on display. The fusion of sun, sea, sand and sapphires seems to make for a heady mix of infinite possibilities in the minds of celebrity stylists, who are keen to evoke the past while paying Cannes fashion forward.
This year, there have been personal brand overhauls, cute plus ones (hi Sienna and Marlowe!) and runway looks we never thought would come to life in the cold light of day. Cannes, you are fab. Here are the top trends so far.
Here come the Hollywoodites
Meryl, Margot et al subscribed to fashion’s current school of thought that the only dress you need this spring is not, in fact, floral, but white. Qualley has memorably played the angelic Chanel ambassador and rarely strayed from a wardrobe of pretty, pristine frocks, save for when she wore a black slip to contrast a romantic ivory chapeau (more on that below). Moreover, the pale and interesting cohort proved that it’s possible to do all-white and not deliver big day drama. Their secret? Sweet simplicity. As Coco Chanel once noted, white has it all. Its “beauty is absolute”.
The Margiela effect
The trickle-down effect of the much celebrated Maison Margiela Artisanal show continues at Cannes, with Greta Gerwig – who did not come to play! – leading the corseted charge. While no one committed to Kim Kardashian’s rib-bruising methodology, there was a large pool of people who must have felt euphoric when ripping off those bodices post-red carpet. Alexa, Anya, Yseult, we salute you!
Hats off on
There are hats and there are Anya Taylor-Joy’s hats. The actor, who is now working with Ryan Hastings after Law Roach “retired”, employed a large number of large chapeaus to possibly help detract from the fact that the Cannes blockbuster of the season, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, doesn’t much focus on its female lead. No matter, for Taylor-Joy doubled down on Croisette drama, committing to the roles of whimsical beach bride and Old Hollywood siren. Joining her jaunty hat gang were the Chanel ambassadors, who shopped from the autumn/winter 2024 collection, infused with the spirit of Gabrielle Chanel in the ’20s and Karl Lagerfeld’s loucher ’70s vibe. If you see anyone wearing a sun hat with a turned-back brim – à la Qualley – it’s because of that romantic Deauville boardwalk show. It seems obvious now that Virginie Viard had Cannes in mind during its conception.
Snazzy jeans, if you please
By now, you’ve already digested our trend memo that jeans must come with tinsel, crystals or fringing to make an impact this summer. Here, we show you the disciples of the fancy pants trend. Sienna Miller pulled a Sienna Miller in a totally unexpected baggy, indigo, horseshoe-shaped pair, teamed with Schiaparelli’s surrealist gold toe shoes, no less. Consider her footwear the divisive coin belt of 2024. Just when you think she’s a boho goddess through and through, the actor throws a curveball in the ring to remind us that she never does things by the book. She does, however, always have good jeans days.
Cold plunge
For all the modern trend dispatches, there will always be sequins – 800,000 in fact, if you’re Emma Stone. The reason why paillettes are so popular is, says stylist Petra Flannery, because they “pop” against the shimmering backdrop of Cannes. Unpredictable forecast? No problem, because the low V-necklines that seemed to be a prerequisite for the paillette-laden crew promised plenty to catch the eye. A welcome change from the ubiquitous “pop of red” that fashion can’t escape, all this liquid-metal embellishment seemed to err towards an inky, Bond girl-esque palette. Martinis mandatory.
Image overhauls
Greta Gerwig, Lily Gladstone and Eva Green had a point to prove with their directional silhouettes, platform heels and conceptual looks, respectively. But it wasn’t just the jurors who used Cannes as an image reboot opportunity. Naomi Campbell, who is now working with Law Roach (sorry, Anya!), looked phenomenal at the festival in a Chanel couture gown she actually debuted on the runway in 1996. We know Roach is good at scoring archival coups and this partnership of fashion divas seems to be a marriage made in heaven. Let’s hope it’s not a brief flirtation. Alexa Chung, who is firmly in influencer mode since shuttering her namesake brand, also leaned into the movie star aesthetic, by wearing sunglasses and waist-cinching couture on the red carpet. Backed by her friends at Boucheron, it will be interesting to see where the east Londoner takes this nonchalant bombshell persona she’s crafted on the coast. It suits her.
