Fashion rules are made to be broken.
The Cannes Film Festival is known for its strict dress code, but this year’s red carpet was full of dangerously plunging necklines, high-slit skirts, and see-through gowns.
The event’s charter, which made headlines last year, states that “nudity is prohibited on the red carpet and in other areas of the festival” for “common sense reasons”.
Additionally, the festival will no longer allow “voluminous costumes, especially costumes with large trains, that impede proper flow of guests or complicate theater seating.”
However, many people are ignoring the new rules.
Kristen Stewart, for example, who once walked the red carpet barefoot to protest the event’s infamous ban on flat shoes, has long been known for her strict attitude at the Cannes Film Festival, and this year was no exception.
The “Twilight” icon posed at last weekend’s “Full Fill” photocall wearing a transparent Chanel skirt set, but at first glance it appeared she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
Her stylist, Tara Swennen, told Vogue that Stewart was actually wearing a flesh-colored tank top and shorts, which made the look seem “more revealing than it actually was.”
Riley Keough opted for a similarly sheer Chanel ensemble for the Histoires Parallèles (Parallel Tales) premiere. Lace lingerie plays peek-a-boo with midi skirts and cardigans.
Some stars have boldly exposed their crochet styles, with skin on full display beneath the woven fabric.
Stewart chose a red and black Chanel knit dress for the “Full Fill” premiere, which she paired with sneakers, which was also a no-no at Cannes.
Marion Cotillard chose another openwork dress from the French fashion house (this one all black, with briefs visible underneath) for the evening screening of Roma Elastica, while judge and director Chloé Zhao chose a sheer black lace Gabriela Hearst dress trimmed with fluttering ruffles for the festival’s opening ceremony.
And Bella Hadid paid sartorial homage to Jane Birkin with a Schiaparelli haute couture dress that featured not only revealing embroidery but also a plunging neckline that fell below the supermodel’s navel.
When it comes to trains, there are trip hazards and it makes it difficult for everyone to walk around the red carpet at the same time, but Demi Moore doesn’t let those rules dictate her outfit.
For La Vie D’Une Femme (A Women’s Life), the judges chose a lilac Gucci chiffon dress that was see-through from the thigh down, complete with a long layered skirt that fluttered dramatically in the Riviera breeze as it performed a step-and-repeat.
When it comes to the year’s most glamorous film festival, stars don’t seem to let awkward dress codes get in the way of their fashion statements.
