‘Naked' dresses and long trains? No Cannes do, except if you're a star

Indian Express

15-05-2025

Try as it might, the oh-so-sérieux Cannes International Film Festival can't skirt controversy. In seeking to ensure that attention is not diverted from the great art of cinema to other, less exalted things — like what the A-list attendees choose to wear (or not wear) — the Festival has made sure this is all anyone talks about. The Riviera's own version of the Streisand Effect — the Croisette Effect. Here is what the new dress code, updated a mere day before the start of the festival, now says: 'For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the Red Carpet, as well as in any other area of the Festival. Voluminous outfits, in particular, those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theatre are not permitted.' Along with this, there is a reiteration of existing strictures, including the ban on sneakers ('elegant' shoes and sandals without heels may be worn).
Considering that nobody has ever actually turned up on any red carpet unclothed, it is probably safe to assume that what the Cannes committee is really banning from the hallowed precincts of the Grand Théâtre Lumière is the so-called 'naked' dress which reveals — either through the sheerness of the fabric used or strategic cuts — parts of the wearer's body that are generally not made visible to the public. Which begs the question: Is a person really nude if they're wearing something, no matter how wispy or see-through that something is? After all, 'they might as well be' is not quite the same as 'they are'.
At best, the updated dress code is designed to keep the focus firmly on the films at the heart of the event. If this is the case, the committee is either shockingly naive or wilfully ignorant. True, Cannes has long been one of the premiere festivals for cinema, but for just as long it has also been an unrivalled platform for publicity. Cineastes may decry the use of the Cannes red carpet by actors, models and influencers to grab attention, but this is not a recent phenomenon that can be pinned on the birth and proliferation of social media: As far back as 1954, when the Palme d'Or was still known as the Grand Prix, model and actor Simone Silva took off her top for the cameras at Cannes in order to raise her profile and get work in Hollywood (not that it helped, in those days of even greater policing of women's clothing). If anything, the festival has, in recent years, benefited as much — if not more — from the bold, outrageous fashion on its red carpet, as have the wearers themselves.
Which is why it is hard to overlook the hypocrisy of dictating what women wear. The claims of 'decency' apparently extend only as far as the red carpet unrolls, because, on Cannes' topless beaches and the films at the Gala Screenings of the festival, women may dress as they please (except, as the 2016 burkini ban made clear, if they choose to do so in the interest of self-defined modesty). For the festival committee to clutch its pearls and call for smelling salts because the 'naked' dress may make an appearance, reeks of double standards, more so because it is hard to imagine that any of the A-list guests will actually be turned away for their more daring outfit choices. Not too long ago, actors Julia Roberts and Kirsten Stewart flouted an until-then unspoken ban on flats for women by walking barefoot on the Cannes red carpet. Stewart, memorably, switched from her Louboutin stilettos to Vans after posing for the paparazzi in 2016, while in 2023 Jennifer Lawrence lifted the hem of her Dior gown to reveal a pair of flip-flops. The festival responded by distancing itself from a rule it had enforced against less famous attendees.
Already, the two new rules have been flouted: Model and television personality Heidi Klum came wearing an Elie Saab dress with a long, trailing skirt; Chinese actor Wan QianHui turned up in a voluminous Wang Feng gown and model Bella Hadid — whose penchant for the 'naked' dress peaked with three variations at last year's edition — posed in a Saint Laurent gown that was cut daringly high in the front and boldly low in the back. This could be because stars and their teams plan outfits for one of the most high-profile events months in advance and don't like to chop and change them at the last minute (jury member Halle Berry appears to be a rare exception, dropping her plans to wear a Gaurav Gupta gown with a large train). More likely, however, it is because they know that the Cannes International Film Festival needs them — and their incredible wattage — just as much as they need it.
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