A necklace that adds weight to a small message.
Bella Hadid always turns heads on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet, but it was her subtle jewelry that stole the show on Tuesday.
The supermodel wore a gold key pendant with teeth cut in the shape of historic Palestine, threaded through a simple black leather strap.
The key is one of the most enduring symbols of Palestinian identity. When more than 700,000 Palestinians fled during the 1948 Nakba (meaning “catastrophe” in Arabic), many did so with little more than their house keys, believing they would return within days.
These keys have become heirlooms, passed down through generations as symbols of what Palestinians call the “right of return.”
Hadid wore the necklace four days after Nakba Day, which is celebrated on May 15 every year. She wore the necklace against an all-black outfit consisting of a backless Tom Ford turtleneck and matching low-slung pants, accented by a skinny leather belt draped around her bare waist.
The model’s father, Mohamed Hadid, was born into a Palestinian family, and she often uses fashion to highlight her heritage.
At the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, she walked down the Croisette in a vintage Michael and Husi dress made from keffiyeh fabric, a traditional checkered cloth that has become a global marker of Palestinian solidarity.
In between videos of the gala premiere and sun-kissed photo shoots, the Olevera founder took to his Instagram Story to condemn Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir’s treatment of detained activists from the Gaza-bound Sumud Platoon.
Hadid’s Instagram profile, which still has pinned posts from 2021, displays a poster that reads, “Until Palestine is free, Palestine is free,” which reads in part, “A Palestinian girl is on the cover of Vogue. The joy it brings me to say that…I will never stop talking about the systematic oppression, pain, and humility that Palestinians face on a regular basis.”
