Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

A Brief History of Red Carpet Rebels at Cannes

A Brief History of Red Carpet Rebels at Cannes

The festival's fashion history has been defined by the attendees who ignore its famous dress code.

Though the Cannes Film Festival is known for many things, its archaic dress code has become a talking point in the last few years. Since its beginnings in 1939 in response to political interference in the Venice Film Festival-a veto from Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler prevented the French war drama, La Grande Illusion from winning that year-Cannes has billed itself as Europe's premier showcase for cinema. Set against the backdrop of one of the French Riviera's most famous resort towns, its rules about dressing stem from the eveningwear norms for guests at the luxury hotels and casinos that line Cannes's streets. For men, a jacket and tie were standard, while the expectations for women involved high heels and long dresses.

In 1946 when the festival launched officially (World War II resulted in a seven-year gap between inception and opening ceremony), the highly regulated approach to after-hours dressing wasn't unusual. Still, even in the early days of Cannes, there were rule-breakers. Never one to adhere to conventions, Pablo Picasso enjoyed a screening of Henri-Georges Clouzot's The Wages of Fear in shearling. Tropic of Cancer author Henry Miller served as a juror in 1960 but refused to alter his wardrobe, ejected from screenings due to his lack of a dinner jacket; Miller proved his style was as nonconformist as his writing.

Each decade a new group of red carpet rebels comes to the festival and decides to do their own thing. There are the fashion absurdists (French comedian Colouche ditching the tux for a playful drag moment with Beatrice Dalle in 1986), the heel averse (Kristen Stewart ditching her Louboutins at the premiere of Blackkklansman in 2018 in deference to the dress code), and even the occasional nudist-you try telling Cicciolina she ought to cover up.

Below, a brief history of red carpet rule breakers at Cannes.



1953


Pablo Picasso arrives at a screening of The Wages of Fear wearing a shearling coat over a corduroy tuxedo. The causal fabrication flew in the face of ’50s menswear trends and the look of traditional black tie. But no one was going to turn Picasso away at the door



1960


The lack of a dinner jacket didn't stop Henry Miller from contributing to the Cannes jury. Sure, he may have been turned away from the opening ceremony, though according to Georges Simenon, the Belgian writer, and that year's jury president, Miller's vote pushed Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita to win the Palme d'Or.



1988


A porn star, politician, and muse to ex-husband art legend, Jeff Koons, Ilona Staller, aka Cicciolina has never shied from controversy. Her clothing-optional personal style didn't stop her from getting onto the carpet at Cannes. Staller arrived at the 41st annual festival wearing transparent cutout "dress" and holding a stuffed Popple toy.



1991


You can't have a list of fashion rebel moments without Madonna, and in 1991 the superstar gave Cannes a treat when she showed at the premiere of the In Bed with Madonna documentary wearing a long pink robe. The high glamour accessory would have been photo worthy on its own, but she stripped it off as she climbed the steps to reveal a Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra and garters.



1997


If they ask for a suit and tie, why not give it to them? When Spanish actress Victoria Abril attended in 1997, she gave the paparazzi a cheeky display in her "business in the front, party in the back" blazer slit open to reveal a thong.



2011


The debate over mandatory heels on the Cannes carpet has become one of the most contested issues related to the festival, though there is a long history of women wearing flats and looking great. In 2011 both Uma Thurman and Inès de La Fressange took to the festival in flat sandals that complemented their gowns. In 2016, Susan Sarandon attended the premiere of Cafe Society in a suit, shades, and pointy-toed black flats.



2016


When in doubt, skip shoes altogether. The famously heel averse Julia Roberts opted to forego footwear when she hit the carpet in an off-the-shoulder Armani Privé gown and emerald Chopard necklace. The barefoot moment was exceptionally glamorous and entirely in line with Roberts's down-to-earth persona.



2018


Enough ink has been spilled about Kristen Stewart's Louboutin removal at the 2018 premiere of Blackkklansman to fill a library. Stewart, however, summed up her thoughts on the controversy most succinctly. "There's definitely a distinct dress code; people get very mad at you if you don't wear heels," said the actor in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. "But if you're not asking guys to wear heels and a dress, you can't ask me either."



2015


The festival rules extend beyond what guests wear. No matter how chic your outfit is, red carpet selfies are off limits. Organizers banned the practice in 2018 with Institut director, Thierry Frémaux, decrying social snapshots. "It's not beautiful. It's grotesque. It's ridiculous," he said on Europe 1 Radio. "We want to restore a bit of decency." Despite the ban, guests-including the fabulous Pixie Lott and Oliver Cheshire-continued to get it for the ’gram.



2019


A dress code based on rules from the last century leaves little room for fluidity. Last year, DJ Kiddy Smile shared the difficulties he faced at the festival when he chose to express himself rather than wear a standard suit and tie. His floral gown at the premiere of Pain and Glory was exceptional, and yet it almost didn't get on the carpet. Stopped by condescending gatekeepers who asked if his look was a “traditional African outfit” he was initially denied entrance. "For men, you have to wear a black tuxedo and a bow tie," Smile told Vogue after the event. "There's something very old school about it. I'm a cis man, but if you're gender-fluid or nonbinary, there is no space for you to exist within this protocol.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×