The craziest and most transparent looks of Cannes are the wildest

The Cannes Film Festival and its emblematic red carpet are officially open for business. And apart from the shadow of President Donald Trump who is looming in this year’s festivities, the most buzzing story to emerge this week has been the new festival’s red clothing code.

On the eve of this year’s opening ceremony, a Cannes representative confirmed The Hollywood Reporter That the festival has updated its charter to prohibit full nudity and “bulky outfits”, in particular those with a large train, which “hinder the flow of trafficking in guests and complicate seats in the theater”. The festival spokesman said that the dress code is not intended to regulate the outfit of “in itself” outfit, but that it has been refreshed to reflect certain rules “which have long been in force”.

Although this may be true, the application has certainly been questionable. A rapid analysis of the Getty archives does not reveal a shortage of revealing and unruly sets, exposed nipples and extremely long trains dating from decades.

In 1988, Italian actress Ilona Staller (who also worked as a porn star and politician) traveled the red carpet in a barely dress that fully exposed her breasts. In recent years, Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner have also worn transparent dresses that have not left the imagination on their respective chest. But cinematographic talents, models and brand ambassadors (in particular those who represent festival sponsors such as L’Oréal, Kering and Chopard) have long worked with more loose fashion restrictions than the regular festival participants which must join the requirements in force and in the evening in black and evening tie.

The head of the longtime festival, Thierry Frémaux, has not yet commented on the updated dress code, but he is known to keep it strict with regard to the integrity of the festival. (Do you remember when he called the ridiculous and grotesque selfies?) So known to keep it strict? The Palais security guards who will certainly be in custody this year to divert anyone who appears naked or with a dress now deemed too wild, according to the new rules: “The festival welcoming the teams will be forced to prohibit access to the red carpet to anyone who does not respect these rules.”

Halle Berry and her style team reacted quickly to the new policy, as the Oscar winner confirmed on Tuesday at the jury’s official conference that she had pivoted a dress that she had planned to wear until the opening ceremony on Tuesday evening. “I had an incredible dress … to wear tonight, and I can’t wear because the train is too big,” she said in front of the international press when she was joined by her colleagues member of the jury like Jeremy Strong. “So, of course, I’m going to follow the rules. I had to do a pivot, but the part of nudity, I think it’s probably a good rule.”

To assess how the news moves abroad, THR Check with rising fashion influence and star of Tiktok Nicky Campbell. “Cannes maintains a very estimated and rigid vision of themselves. The impacts of the eleventh hour mandate, the most concerning, talent has list A – and brand sponsors who pay for a lot to attend – and their style teams that have been preparing carpet looks for weeks, “explains Campbell. “This ban could cause frenzy and many last-minute changes, the supply of clothing and the workforce to ensure that talents arrive ready for the carpet and avoid any potential dismissal. I would be a panic attack. ”

The initiate of fashion and executive veteran Tosha Hays has published a statement through a representative who declares that she supports politics, adding that in the current attention focused on attention, the less is not always more. “I support the ban on the bare rod dress of Cannes, not as a rejection of daring fashion, but as a declaration on the cultural moment in which we are,” explains Hays, whose curriculum vitae includes mandates at Venus Fashion and Spanx. “The red carpet has become less on style and more on algorithms. We have exchanged narration for the show. It is not modesty, it is meaning.”

Since meaning can always be found by examining history, THR Compiled some photographic evidence of a sample of the most transparent and large dresses to hit the red cane carpet in previous years. But first a warning: some of the images contain partial nudity.