Jane Birkin pairing her beaded dress with a basket. Madonna in a Jean-Paul Gaultier cone bra and a garter set. Kristen Stewart barefoot in Chanel chain mail. Spike Lee in a sunset-inspired suit.
The Cannes Film Festival, with its sheer preponderance of red carpets and boardwalk photo ops, its blockbusters and art house flicks, has given the world more indelible fashion moments than any other festival. In 2002, Sharon Stone made so many dramatic red carpet entrances as a member of the Cannes jury that she managed to revive her flagging career through the power of clothes alone.
Even before the start of this year’s festival, which officially takes place from May 14 through May 25 on the French Riviera, attendees began throwing down the fashion gauntlet.
The actress Anya Taylor-Joy, who is in Cannes to promote “Furiosa,” the latest “Mad Max” movie, made waves by stepping out in a Jacquemus straw hat so large it doubled as a portable sunshade. The filmmaker Greta Gerwig, whose job as president of the festival’s competition jury means packing 10 days’ worth of outfits, stopped by a photo call wearing an hourglass-effect, blue-and-white-striped milkmaid dress straight from the latest Maison Margiela couture collection.
Also hopping on the seaside stripes trend were the actor Chris Hemsworth, fresh off co-hosting the Met Gala, who stepped out in a blue-and-white-striped Etro suit, and Meryl Streep, who posed in a white Michael Kors pantsuit and a navy-and-white-striped shirt.
Indeed, what makes the festival such irresistible eye candy is that it’s not only a parade of grand gowns and tuxedos, but also a panoply of accessible sunshine style.
The fashion show really kicked off on Tuesday with the festival’s opening ceremony, attended by stars like Léa Seydoux, Jane Fonda, Lily Gladstone and Ms. Streep, who was honored with a lifetime achievement Palme d’Or award. As the fashion editor Miranda Priestly in “The Devil Wears Prada,” Ms. Streep gave the world a description of the trickle-down fashion effect that has yet to be beaten. Today the Côte d’Azur, tomorrow your closet? It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds.
