Celebrity Style
Voluminous Gowns! Bare Feet! Naked Dresses! A Brief History of Red Carpet Rebels at Cannes
Photos: Getty Images; Collage by Vogue
Though the Cannes Film Festival is known for many things, its archaic dress code has become something of a talking point in recent 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 sun-and-sea backdrop of one of the French Riviera's most famous resort towns, its rules about dressing are born of the long-ago eveningwear norms for guests at the luxury hotels and casinos that line Cannes’s charming streets. For men, that means 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.
In 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
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 and was thereby ejected from screenings due to his lack of a dinner jacket, proving his style was as nonconformist as his writing.
Each decade, a new generation 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.
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."
More recently, in 2023, the Cannes red carpet enjoyed even more rule-bending moments. Jennifer Lawrence, for one, punctuated her Dior couture gown with a pair of flip-flops. “I had no idea until it came out that there was a whole controversy with people wearing flats or walking down the red carpet barefoot, I had no clue,” Lawrence later said of her viral footwear. “My shoes were a size too big.” Last year, meanwhile, naked dresses—that is, sheer or transparent frocks—were officially banned at Cannes, yet Bella Hadid famously hit the red carpet in just that, sporting a sheer Saint Laurent gown that set the Internet ablaze.
Will this year's festival deliver even more unexpected style moments? We're about to find out. The 2026 festival is officially underway, and arrivedonly time will tell how many Cannes attendees will break the rules. (The festival’s recent “no voluminous gowns” rule, for one, has already been ignored on this year’s red carpet.) Below, read on for a brief history of red carpet rule breakers at Cannes.
Photo: Getty Images
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.
Photo: Getty Images
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.
Photo: Getty Images
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.
Photo: Getty Images
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.
Photo: Getty Images
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.
Photo: Getty Images
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.
Photo: Getty Images
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.
Photo: Getty Images
2019
A dress code based on rules from the last century leaves little room for fluidity. In 2019, 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.
Photo: Getty Images
2023
Jennifer Lawrence made headlines in 2023 while attending the premiere of Anatomy of a Fall. Dressed in her red Dior couture gown, the actor punctuated her look with a pair of black flip-flops—an accessory that directly goes against the festival's infamous (not to mention archaic) no-flats rule. Lawrence, however, insisted that she wasn't intentionally breaking the rules. “I would really like to straighten this out. I was not making a political statement,” the actress told Entertainment Tonight. “I had no idea until it came out that there was a whole controversy with people wearing flats or walking down the red carpet barefoot, I had no clue. My shoes were a size too big.”
Photo: Getty Images
2023
In 2023, Iranian model Mahlagha Jaberi wore a Jila Atelier design that featured a halter-style neckline shaped into a golden noose. The dress was made as an intentional political statement, to draw attention to how the death penalty is currently being used by Iranian officials as a means to maintain power and instill fear in anti-regime protestors. “As an artist, I believe that we need to stand against this and open up the eyes of the world,” Saber told Vogue. “We were thinking about creating something to display our fight against this injustice.”
Photo: Getty Images
2024
This year, naked dresses—that is, sheer or transparent frocks—have been officially banned at Cannes. That did not stop supermodel Bella Hadid from wearing one such frock last year, when she hit the red carpet in a sheer Saint Laurent gown. She was breaking dress codes before they even went into effect—a true fashion star.
Photo: Getty Images
2025
Wan QianHui rejected the “no voluminous gowns” rule.
Photo: Getty Images
2025
Farhana Bodi rejected the “no voluminous gowns” rule.
Photo: Getty Images
2025
Heidi Klum rejected the “no voluminous gowns” rule.
Photo: Getty Images
2025
Bella Hadid rejected the “no naked gowns” rule with a plunging Saint Laurent gown that had an exposed back and cutouts.
Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images
2025
Halle Berry rejected the “no voluminous gowns” rule with a Celia Kritharioti gown that had an exaggerated pink bubble skirt.
Photo: Getty Images
2026
Charlotte Cardin rejected the “no naked dresses” rule with a black, totally-sheer Saint Laurent gown.
Vogue.com's Senior Fashion and Culture Editor. The first movie she ever saw was Back to the Future Part II and she's been waiting patiently for a pair of self-lacing shoes ever since. ... Read More
Christian Allaire is the Senior Fashion and Style Writer at Vogue, where he covers celebrity style, red carpet fashion, trends, emerging designers, and more. He is particularly passionate about championing Indigenous stories and artists—a niche that reflects his own Ojibwe heritage, hailing from Nipissing First Nation in Canada. He regularly ... Read More