Reflected glory in Cannes red carpet fashion
Body-skimming dresses with shimmering, mirror-like appliqué have proved a breakout trend on the Croisette.
Shimmering dresses, pastel-coloured suits and gowns gasping with frothy layers of tulle. The 75th Cannes Film Festival red carpet has not been an understated affair, with a contemporary take on old Hollywood glamour emerging as the order of the event.
The premiere of Top Gun: Maverick set the tone, with the cast of the action blockbuster arriving for a daytime photo call dressed in a spread of sorbet-toned suits that were deserving of a day spent jaunting around the Riviera. Tom Cruise, who arrived via helicopter, opted for a classic black suit and gave the new recruits their own space to shine. Jay Ellis did exactly that in a mint green suit by colourful Paris-based brand Casablanca, which is one of menswear’s brightest rising stars.
At the premiere of Final Cut (or Coupez! as it’s called in French), Australian actor Katherine Langford was a vision in a silver Prada gown, which was spangled with sequins.
Body-skimming dresses with shimmering, mirror-like appliqué have proved a breakout trend on the red carpet.
At the premiere of George Miller’s Three Thousand Years Of Longing, a large part of which was filmed Down Under, Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio looked statuesque in a silver Alberta Ferretti gown. Alicia Vikander went for a rose-gold riff on the trend, in a custom Louis Vuitton number that would make her Ex Machina character proud.
No stranger to breaking convention with a daring red carpet look (she wore hot pants to the 2022 Oscars), Kristen Stewart chose a bedazzled long-sleeve crop top for the premiere of sci-fi thriller Crimes of the Future.
One of the festival’s most talked-about fashion moments was Anne Hathaway’s red carpet debut. She’s a bankable Hollywood star, but only this year had made her first Cannes appearance. Outside the Grand Theatre Lumiere at the premiere of Armageddon Time, the Princess of Genova (as she’s endearingly referred to by Princess Diary fans) reminded onlookers of her regality in effervescent Armani Prive, complete with a flowing white bow-shaped stole.
Elsewhere, modern supermodel Bella Hadid made a statement by dressing exclusively in all-vintage looks. On social media, a sculptural black evening gown designed in 1987 by Gianni Versace drew the most attention.
The festival reached a crescendo on Thursday morning Australian time, with the highly anticipated premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis epic. Leading the proceedings was American heart-throb Austin Butler, who plays the film’s title character, along with Tom Hanks, who plays the King’s manager Colonel Tom Parker, and Aussie actor Olivia DeJonge, who appears as Priscilla Presley. DeJonge, who seems destined for stardom, floated down the red carpet dressed in an ethereal sea foam green Gucci gown.
The curtain may be closing on this stylish affair, but Cannes’ legacy as the world’s most glamorous film festival lives on.
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