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| Bella Hadid wearing Daniel Roseberry's custom Schiaparelli gown inspired by a 1969 Jane Birkin dress, on the red carpet at Cannes. Photograph: Daniele Venturelli/WireImage. Cover picture of Stephane Rolland Haute Couture AW25/26 by Jay Zoo for DAM. |
As the flashbulbs faded along the Croisette and the 2026 Cannes Film Festival drew to a close, the red carpet once again proved that cinema’s most glamorous showcase remains as much about fashion mythology as film itself. Over twelve days, Cannes delivered a dizzying procession of couture triumphs, styling disasters, archival references and headline-grabbing spectacle, a reminder that on the Riviera, elegance and excess are always locked in competition, reports Antonio Visconti
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Demi Moore wore a striking, sculptural red gown by Gucci to the premiere of Fatherland. |
THE strongest looks at this year's Cannes Film Festival succeeded because they understood the essence of Cannes: drama balanced with restraint. That balance became even more significant this year following the festival’s increasingly strict dress code, which discouraged overt nudity and attempted to curb the enormous voluminous gowns that have increasingly turned the Palais staircase into an obstacle course.
The regulations may have aimed to restore sophistication, but fashion’s appetite for spectacle proved impossible to suppress entirely. Few captured that tension better than Bella Hadid, who emerged in a breathtaking Schiaparelli gown inspired by a 1969 dress worn by Jane Birkin. It was a masterclass in modern nostalgia, sculptural without feeling theatrical, sensual without tipping into costume. The look recalled old Cannes glamour while still feeling sharply contemporary, reaffirming Hadid’s status as one of the few celebrities capable of turning archival fashion into a living conversation.
Demi Moore also dominated the festival, though not always successfully. Her crimson Gucci column gown designed by Demna Gvasalia was among the strongest moments on this year’s carpet: sleek, severe and commanding without overworking the silhouette. Yet Moore also delivered one of Cannes’ strangest and most divisive fashion moments in an oversized fluorescent pink gown by avant-garde label Matières Fécales. The partially disintegrated, almost melting construction was impossible to ignore — attention-grabbing yet oddly fairy-floss sweet, hovering somewhere between couture experiment and surreal performance art. It perfectly embodied Cannes’ ongoing battle between disciplined elegance and fashion spectacle.
Cannes has never been about safe dressing: it is fashion at its most exposed, occasionally ridiculous, sometimes magnificent, and impossible to ignore
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Sharon Stone shines in a strapless column dress by South Korean, London-based Miss Sohee. |
Veteran stars were often the most convincing. Sharon Stone delivered one of the festival’s great surprises in a striking couture gown from Miss Sohee's Spring/Summer 2026 collection, proving once again that confidence and presence can elevate even the most dramatic silhouette.
Equally memorable was the Marchioness of Bath, whose diaphanous, romantic gown by Carloline's Couture offered a welcome reminder that understated aristocratic glamour still has a place amid Cannes’ increasingly algorithm-driven spectacle.
But for every triumph, there was a cautionary tale. Heidi Klum struggled in a peach draped gown by Elie Saab that overwhelmed rather than flattered. The colour drained her presence, while the heavy folds created a strangely unfinished effect under the harsh Riviera lights.
Alex Chung, usually dependable in understated tailoring, misfired in a limp silk Dior top that felt more backstage than black tie. Marion Cotillard fared little better in an oversized, badly-fitting Chanel gown that appeared shapeless and disconnected from the elegance Cannes traditionally rewards.
Likewise, Alicia Vikander disappeared into an underwhelming sleeveless white Louis Vuitton gown that felt more awards-luncheon than international film festival. Among the menswear disappointments, Lucas Bravo suffered from poor proportions in a heavy navy suit paired awkwardly with a maroon shirt, while even the usually immaculate Gillian Anderson was let down by a stark white Miu Miu gown whose thick straps and rigid structure dulled her natural elegance.
The film festival red-carpet style is caught between timeless glamour and the relentless pressure to go viral
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French actor Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu wore a blousy SS26 Saint Laurent design by Anthony Vaccarello. |
Demi Moore’s semi-transparent mauve gown later in the festival, however, lacked the refinement of her stronger appearances, veering unexpectedly into something closer to fast-fashion than Riviera sophistication.
Perhaps the most divisive appearance belonged to Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, the thorny PR boss in Emily in Paris. Her voluminous purple gown threatened to consume her slight frame entirely and clashed badly with the red carpet, edging close to parody and precisely the kind of exaggerated silhouette festival organisers were attempting to discourage.
And that was Cannes 2026 in miniature: a festival caught between timeless glamour and the relentless pressure to go viral.
At its best, the fashion celebrated craftsmanship, personality and cinematic grandeur. At its worst, it became a competition for attention. Yet even the failures played their role. Cannes has never been about safe dressing. It is fashion at its most exposed, occasionally ridiculous, sometimes magnificent, and hard to ignore.
Below see the Hits and Misses from the Red Carpet at the Cannes International Film Festival
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| HIT: Lady Emma Thynn, the Marchioness of Bath, looking elegantly at ease in this diaphanous gown by Caroline's Couture, the high fashion label of Caroline Scheufele, the artistic director and co-president of Chopard who created the emerald and diamond necklace. |
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| MISS: American actor Gillian Anderson wearing a Miu Miu white column dress with bulky shoulder straps that looks like the ill-fitting top of a glittery bathing suit. The loose pony-tail also looks too casual for the red carpet. |
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| HIT: Demi Moore's oversized ballgown in a fluorescent pink by Rose Dalton and Steven Raj of Matieres Fecales test Canne's rules but fitted the actor like a glove at the waist and the seemingly disintegrating bow and hem added an element of avant-garde drama to one-dimensional celebrity dressing. |
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| MISS: German actor Diane Kruger's Givenchy ensemble by Sarah Burton is an awkward mix of a short, floral embroidered dress with an emerald, green satin cape that looked chaotic and unflattering, including the matching shoes. |
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| HIT: Ruth Negga, the Oscar-nominated Ethiopian Irish actor, wears a sleek, custom-design AMI Paris tuxedo designed by founder Alexandre Mattiussi. |
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| MISS: French actor Marion Cottillard wears a badly fitting and unattractive leather, drop-waist dress with raffia skirt by Mathieu Blazy for Chanel. This was part of his debut Chanel Cruise 2026/27 collection which he unveiled in Biarritz two weeks before the Cannes Film Festival. |
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| HIT: Actor Aja Naomi King wears a custom. white-crystal embroidered macrame gown by Miu Miu that looks both fresh and glamourous on the red carpet. |
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| MISS: British Alexa Chung wears another unappealing red-carpet gown that Joantahn Anderson of Dior designed. The ice-blue satin bodice looks baggy and falls into a black bow above a sheer, navy embroidered skirt; rather than looking like a cohesive whole it looks like disparate parts. |
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| HIT: Model Ikram Abdi Omar looks stylish and in a beautifully-cut, long-sleeved Stella McCartney gown in white with a matching hijab. |
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| MISS: The draping on Heidi Klum's Elie Saab strapless gown from the Autumn/Winter 2025-26 collection is knotted unflatteringly at the waist but the pale peach hues wash out the German presenter and the large, central flower on the bodice looks like gilding an already overdone lily. |
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| HIT: British actor Poppy Delevingne looks elegant in a vintage 2007 Autumn/Winter 2007 velvet gown, The archival piece features intricate lace details and is worn with Chopard jewels. |
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| MISS: Luxembourgish German actor Vicky Krieps wore a bulky and unflattering black and white Bottega Veneta asymmetrical ensemble, from the label's Autumn/Winter 2026 collection. |
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| HIT: American professional kiteboarder and actor, Maika Monroe wore an Ashi Studio Couture gown designed to look like molten silver and constructed from thousands of hand-embroidered tiny, metallic sequins on a lightweight mesh. |
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| MISS: Halsey looking like an elaborate Christmas bauble, donned a custom Vivienne Westwood couture gown designed by Andreas Kronthaler. The corseted gold and black Chantilly lace plus the heavy, dangling beadwork overwhelmed the American singer and songwriter. |
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| HIT: Sara Sampaio in a delicate and romantic dress with a structured bodice and pleated chiffon embroidered with shimmering crystals and mother of pearl details. The Portuguese model and actor chose the custom Miu Miu creation for its voluminous skirt of layered, frothy tulle. |
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| MISS: Alicia Vikander wore a minimal, low-key Louis Vuitton dress in a drab shade that looked like a sporty top with chiffon arches below. It didn't do much for the Swedish actor and looked too plain for a major Cannes premiere. |
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| HIT: Jane Fonda appeared at the Cannes Film Festival's opening ceremony in a sophisticated custom Gucci gown that shimmered with black sequins and hugged her figure with a high neck and well-defined shoulders. |
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| MISS: British actor Tilda Swinton has an avant-garde signature style but her Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2026 silk-velvet ensemble by Matthieu Blazy, looked ill-fitting and unappealing, despite the designer's saying the design was inspired by Japanese Haiku poetry about the flight of a bird. |
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| HIT: Cate Blanchett's Givenchy Autumn/Winter 2026 gown by Sarah Burton who says she was inspired by artist Olan Ventura's work which harks back to the Dutch Old Masters. The floral embroidery uses a stain stich technique that gives the petals a lively sheen. |
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| MISS: Caral Bruni's graphic Zebra motif stood out on the red carpet but competed with her subtle hair and make-up and in the end wore her. The floor-length custom Roberto Cavalli mermaid gown was designed by Fausto Puglisi with a plunging neckline and velvet detailing. |
