Cannes 78th International Film Festival: Where Fashion Meets Film, from Red Carpet to Riviera Runway

Striking a pose in billowing white couture and French lace on the Croisette at Cannes during the film festival. Photograph by Andrea Heinsohn for DAM.

The 78th Cannes International Film Festival offered far more than red-carpet spectacle, its true spirit unfolded along the Croisette, where street style, spontaneous encounters, and the tireless dance of photographers created a living portrait of the festival. From fashion statements born in the sunlit bustle to the charged energy surrounding daily premieres and seaside happenings, Cannes revealed itself as a vibrant cultural stage where cinema, style, and human moments intertwined, writes Antonio Visconti. Photography by Andrea Heinsohn

Ballgowns and jeans and t-shirts

all mix on the Croisette at Cannes.

IN Cannes, the annual film festival unfolded this year with all the shimmering unpredictability that has long made the palm-lined Croisette a stage as compelling as any cinema screen. While the red carpet remained the festival’s ceremonial heart, the true story of Cannes played out on the sun-washed boulevard outside the Palais des Festivals, where fashion, frenzy, and fleeting moments converged in an irresistible daily performance.

From early morning, the Croisette became a runway of its own, alive with actors, directors, producers and cinephiles dashing between screenings and seaside cafés. 

Street style at Cannes has always been a uniquely global blend, but this year felt especially expressive: Italian linen tailoring, sculptural Japanese silhouettes, Riviera-chic ensembles in sun-faded blues, and bursts of couture-level glamour stepped straight off yachts and into the crowd. The laissez-faire elegance of Cannes mingled seamlessly with high-voltage fashion statements, oversized sunglasses, silk scarves fluttering in sea breezes, metallic handbags catching the light like jewellery.

And then there were the photographers, a guild whose energy shaped the atmosphere as much as any celebrity appearance. Positioned along the red carpet, lining ladders above barricades, darting through the crowds, or crouched low on pavements, they worked with a choreography all their own. Their lenses chased everything: star arrivals, glimmers of vintage Chanel drifting past on bicycles, unexpected reunions between directors, or simply a stranger whose look demanded attention. In Cannes, anyone can suddenly become a subject. The photographers know this better than anyone, and their instinct for spontaneity is what gives the festival its pulse.

At dusk, a golden wash of Côte d'Azur sunlight illuminated the Croisette, turning the palm-lined boulevard into a cinematic frame

Photographers bring their own

ladders to capture all of the red

carpet action at the festival. 

Throughout the day, the Croisette thrummed with happenings, pop-up interviews, brand launches, and impromptu fashion shoots unfolding against the Mediterranean backdrop. At dusk, a golden wash illuminated the boulevard, turning every step into a cinematic frame. 

Crowds gathered outside the Palais as the evening premieres drew near, the anticipation almost physical. Tourists craned for glimpses of stars, while photographers jockeyed for position, shouting cues, adjusting lenses, and capturing images destined to circulate worldwide within minutes.

Beyond the glamour, Cannes remained about human connection: actors paused to greet fans; directors chatted with students; festival guests shared laughter over gelato on the promenade. Our reportage captures these contrasts, the grandeur of couture brushing against the easy charm of a festival lived in the streets.

In the end, the 78th Cannes Film Festival was more than a celebration of cinema. It was a living tableau: vibrant, unpredictable, and visually intoxicating. And on the Croisette, every passerby, every flash of a shutter, and every burst of Riviera light played a role in the ongoing mythology of this French filmic icon.

Scroll down to see more moments from the Cannes Film Festival by Andrea Heinsohn