According to Julia Garner, the new Cannes Film Festival dress code banning nudity comes with some caveats. This evening, the actor attended the festival’s opening ceremony in a rule-appropriate twist on the sheer dressing trend.
Garner hit the red carpet in a custom Gucci design. The actor’s dress was marked by a sheer top layer that featured ruching and a floor-skimming train (though far too short to violate the new ban on “long” trains.) So as to not ruffle the feathers of the festival’s organizers, Garner’s dress was lined with an embroidered sequin portion underneath. The dual fabrics brought an interesting texture to the dress which Garner accessorized with black leather shoes, her signature bleach blonde hair, and chandelier earrings.
On Monday, the organization issued a statement that read, “For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as in any other area of the festival. Voluminous outfits, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater are not permitted.” It’s a decree that disrupted a long-standing tradition of daring looks at the festival, and might have inspired Garner to tailor her Gucci dress.
Garner’s look, in specific the doubled sheer fabric, tapped into the naked dressing craze without risk of violating the festival’s new rules. But, based on the opening ceremony this evening, it’s still unclear exactly how those rules are being enforced. There were a handful of guests who completely ignored the ban on “large trains. Notably, Heidi Klum attended the event in a floral Elie Saab look that trailed for several feet behind her, and some who even wore fully lace outfits. Then there was Cannes queen Bella Hadid who broke her streak of naked dresses at the festival in favor of a simple Saint Laurent dress with cut-outs. Jury member Halle Berry went as far as to swap her original outfit for a back-up Jacquemus look, saying earlier today, “I had an amazing dress by Gupta that I cannot wear tonight because it’s too big of a train. I’m not going to break the rules.”
It’s likely Garner’s Gucci dress was constructed weeks in advance of her appearance at the festival tonight. Still, stars originally planning to wear sheer dresses to the festival this year might do like Garner and line the see-through portion with sequins.