The Cannes Film Festival is the world’s biggest red carpet. For 75 years, the event’s lineup of premieres and parties has enriched the film industry while providing style devotees with a seemingly endless array of standout fashion. Cannes’ dress code is famously strict and arguably passé, but it has ensured the festival’s position as the premier showcase for haute couture and decadent gemstones. Cannes is not casual. Unless you’re this year’s inimitably cool jury president, Spike Lee, you don’t get to walk the steps of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès wearing sneakers.
In 2020 there were no premieres or parties due to the coronavirus pandemic and its travel bans, but this year the event comes roaring back. With a jury that includes chic international talent like French-Senegalese director Mati Diop, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, and Tahar Rahim, the fashion was bound to be good, but guests were already exceeding expectations. From the moment Gyllenhaal walked into day on’’s first photocell in a sleek Hedi Slimane-designed black trousers and tube-top combo from Celine, things were off and running.
