Looking forward
The 70th Cannes Film Festival concluded its 12-day run on the idyllic French Riviera two weeks back. Attended by top auteurs, international movie stars and famous models celebrating cinematic excellence, the event’s red carpet turned into a world stage of style and glamour. We suss out what was trending and what was not.
Thigh High
It seems that shapely gams are the accessories of the season as high slit dresses were very in vogue on the festival’s red carpet. While model of the moment Bella Hadid flaunted hers in the barely-there crystal-embellished number at the amfAR Gala, Susan Sarandon proved that she still had it in a deep emerald velvet Alberta Ferretti. Irina Shayk showed off her toned thigh and stunning post-pregnancy figure in a canary Atelier Versace gown. Navigating the carpet in a sexy dress can be a high stakes game however, as Petra Nemcova found out when her The Second Skin Co. dress proved to be just a little too revealing.
Jumpsuits
It may be a little hard to stand out in a sea of show-stopping gowns but Tilda Swinton never had a problem in that department. While she eschewed her usual androgynous chic for two lady-like Haider Ackermann looks earlier in the festival, she was soon back in a Bowie-esque Chanel jumpsuit a few days later. Models Sara Sampaio and Jourdan Dunn, also on the jumpsuit bandwagon, each donned sparkling silver jumpsuits. While Sampaio dressed her Armani Prive look up with a sleek knotted ponytail, Dunn was letting her hair down in a sexy disco-worthy Jonathan Simkhai one-piece. It was Emily Ratajkowski, however, that stole the show with her dramatic black lace jumpsuit with a floor-length bustle. Designed by a post-Cavalli Peter Dundas, the look immediately fueled speculation about a possible new line from Dundas and cemented Ratajkowski as a Cannes style star.
Trains
Nicole Kidman may be the “Queen of Cannes”, but festival darling Elle Fanning was the breakout star, whose custom Vivienne Westwood gown with a whimsical hand-drawn unicorn won fashion critics over. Reality star Kendall Jenner upped the ante with an asymmetrical Giambattista Valli Couture dress with a dramatic train. Her next look, pairing an Alexandre Vauthier top (with an equally dramatic train) with denim shorts, however, fared less well.
Menswear-Inspired
Leave it to an iconoclast like Jean Paul Gaultier to dress Liu Wen in a breezy pantsuit. The striped menswear-inspired look was red carpet-sophisticated, with an air of laissez-faire that was perfect for the French Mediterranean. French actress Aymeline Valade, no stranger to suits, looked sharp in a teal tuxedo from Parisian label Pallas. And president of the Un Certain Regard jury, Uma Thurman, looked regally blonde in her white & gold Armani Prive shirt & skirt ensemble.
One for the men
Speaking of menswear, quite unsurprisingly, most of the men played it safe this year, following the black-tie mandate by donning well-cut tuxedos. Not that they weren’t outstanding in their own right: Will Smith’s double-breasted Brioni was sleek and powerful, and Jake Gyllenhaal’s midnight blue Tom Ford suit made many a best-dressed list even before the festival was over. Some men, festival president Pedro Almodovar included, made a strong case for the all-black outfit. French actor Louis Garrel opted to go tieless in Lanvin, whilst Adrien Brody went black-on-black-on-black with an evening scarf. Funnily though, it was the guys ordinarily behind the camera that were making a mark on the red carpet. Director John Cameron Mitchell’s bright scarlet blazer with racing check trims as well as screenwriter Brian Selznick’s bold-patterned suit proved that sometimes sartorial risks are worth taking.
