Vogue Chaos Issue 9: Cannes Red Carpet Review
Which look will go down in history and which look will get the boot? Lets find out
An amusing debate ensued where members of the Film Community were mad at the members of the Fashion Community for giving more importance to red carpet outfits than the films the guests were supposed to be watching. As someone who doesn’t watch anything that Netflix doesn’t have, naturally I feel the need to defend the homeground. If you think about it, it really doesn’t matter what movies they are showing because the general audience doesn’t get to see them so technically for anyone not over there, it is a 2 week fashion extravaganza. My inner Anna Wintour channeled her inner Michele Visage for the red carpet challenge.
We simply must start with Fan Bingbing who turned out 15 looks in 11 days. I am in awe of her determination to make a statement. I have reached a phase where trying hard and making an effort have started to look better than anything ‘effortless’. If someone has put a lot of thought into their look I appreciate it so much more than if it looks like they just threw it on, even if they actually spent hours on it. Effort just looks like you really love fashion.
Probably effortless fashion appeals to a large segment of people because it applies to their life but the problem is they can never copy that style because effortless isn’t actually so. It stays as an ideal because no one knows how to achieve that, or perhaps even in this age that there are several gullible people among us. While not every look wowed me, she made me eagerly await her looks more than anyone else’s and the sheer variety of looks show her range. It was oppalance, she owned the red carpet.
Elle Fanning pulled the most memorable looks of the season with the custom Alexander McQueen and Paco Rabanne. I am so glad she opted for the custom look because the runway look had had its moment so the only way to blow us away again was to add something to it.
Another much celebrated moment at Cannes was when Natalie Portman walked in wearing a recreation of the Junon Dress by Christian Dior. This is probably the most famous dress in the world which every fashion lover has seen plastered across Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and now Tiktok, at least once a week. A dress that always generates likes for the posters and inevitably starts to annoy you after 6 months of seeing it everywhere. Now when this dress was paraded around in a less-extravagant avatar, it just did not land on me. You see, I am in the bad habit of zooming into every picture. In the original dress, each petal is individually embroidered and is completely embellished with sequins and pearls, making it glitter with each move. Natalie’s dress does not carry the same amount of sparkle. If you notice, the petals fold over each other which ruins the look. The recreation does not have the volume of original skirt, which was also shorter in the front which increased the illusion of volume even more. The bodice is awkwardly stout instead of angular and curving against the wearer’s body. It is also not the first time this dress has been recreated and dare I say, MGC and Galliano both made much better versions of this when they did not try to make it an exact replica. Some dresses belong in the museum and seeing them walk among the living feels wrong.
The Idol was one of the most anticipated premiers at Cannes with rumours and drama that took the top spot over the Don’t Worry Darling drama from Venice last year. Recall what I said about making an effort? This is what was completely missing from Lily Rose Depp’s appearances. I was curious to watch the show after its many controversies but this reluctance to commit really put me off of it. Jennie however really carries the appearances with her magical ability to make Chanel look good. No seriously, did you see this outfit on the runway? A simple styling hack transformed it. Her Shu Shu Tong look was elegant as well.
Now coming to miscellaneous best dressed – there were so many of them! These were some of my favourites. This entire festival just kept on giving me life. MET Gala who?
And finally coming to the Hall of Shame – some of the very questionable looks. I am pretty sure Aishwarya Rai just did it for the memes because I refuse to believe this is her actual taste. It comes as no surprise that Chanel dominated the bottom tier looks with 3 appearances. Another surprising look to land here is Jean Paul Gaultier by Glenn Martens red dress on Araya Hargate. The styling absolutely ruined the look with a visible corset and jewellery. It makes me wonder whether the original look was just saved by styling and photography? This look does not hold up in movement. Prada has never been a red carpet staple but Maya Hawke in a green dress with dishwasher gloves, rain boots, and an unfortunate haircut was moment I want to erase from their track record.
Overall, it was a very satisfying fashion season! Which ones were your favourite looks? Which movies are you excited to watch?