France’s most fabulous film festival roared back — and the familiar faces certainly flooded in.
Highlights of this year’s Cannes Film Festival schedule counted George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Yorgos Lanthimos’s Kinds of Kindness, which sees Emma Stone return in front of his lens.
There was also Francis Ford Coppola’s science fiction drama Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver, as well as Kevin Costner's Western epic Horizon, An American Saga, which features Costner alongside Sienna Miller. The festival runs May 14 — 25 (and here are the 11 films you can’t miss).
The first guests to arrive were, as ever, this year’s jury; helmed by Barbie director Greta Gerwig, it consists of Killers of the Moon actor Lily Gladstone, Turkish screenwriter Ebru Ceylan, Spanish producer and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, French actor Eva Green, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Lebanese director Nadine Labaki and French actor and producer Omar Sy.
Style highlights from the opening day included Gladstone, who wore a Gucci white shirt dress with “Ancora” red accessories; platform loafers, bag and GG-logo belt, all signatures from new creative director Sabato De Sarno. Gerwig also commanded attention in a Margiela couture look from John Galliano’s much-feted Spring 2024 collection, as the pair took part in the opening press conference.
Meryl Streep later bathed in the spotlight as she fully embraced Riviera-chic, wearing a white suit from Michael Kors Collection with a blue striped shirt, panama hat and metallic silver heels as she received an honorary Palme d'Or.
The opening red carpet ceremony on Tuesday night came with a screening Le Deuxième Acte (or, The Second Act) and saw models Helena Christensen and Heidi Klum join acting legends Meryl Streep and Jane Fonda on the carpet with London high society staple Lady Victoria Hervey as well as Messi the dog, the Border Collie best known for his role in Anatomy of a Fall (not to mention winner of last years Palm Dog Award in Cannes).
Wednesday brought the glamour, with Anya Taylor-Joy attending the premiere of Furiosa in a glittering champagne ballgown by Dior, paired with sculptural Tiffany & Co jewellery. Her co-star, Chris Hemsworth, beamed beside her in an ivory suit, which is technically in violation of Cannes’ strict dress code due to its lack of a bow tie. But who cares — last year Jennifer Lawrence wore flip-flops!
Elsewhere at the Furiosa premiere, Greta Gerwig delighted onlookers by wearing a fitted silhouette for the first time in many moons. The director and jury member was radiant in a red Armani Privé gown, which featured a plunging neckline and diamante straps, alongside plentiful Chopard jewellery.
But the thunder was slightly stolen by Naomi Campbell, who arrived arm-in-arm with stylist Law Roach, wearing a Chanel dress she first wore on the runway nearly 30 years ago. The dress, made up of black sequins, sheer panelling and delicate pearl straps, is from Karl Lagerfeld’s Autumn Winter 1997 Haute Couture show.
On Thursday, Taylor-Joy continued to lead the best dressed in a cream Jil Sander skirt-suit with a matching headpiece that dangled across her browline. Elsewhere, Barry Keoghan ditched his Met Gala tailcoat and top hat for a heather grey tuxedo jacket, paired with black suit trousers and a ruffled white shirt from Burberry.
Later that evening, it was back to the women dominating the red carpet for the premiere of Megalopolis. First there was French singer-songwriter and model Yseult, wearing an entire custom ensemble of Dior’s 1947 “New Look” bar jacket and skirt, and posing up a storm. Then there was Grace Vanderwaal, who mesmerized in vintage Cinema by Panos Zinas and an NK Bride custom veil. Aubrey Plaza arrived wearing Loewe and was, as usual, a vision in pearlescent silk, while SNL’s Chloe Fineman sparkled in scarlet, sequined Celine.
On Friday, Barry Keoghan kept the breezy daytime looks coming with a relaxed white t-shirt and pinstriped trousers combo, posing for pictures alongside his Bird co-star and Passages alum Franz Rogowski, who was equally well dressed. But it was Uma Thurman, who wore an ivory silk satin dress with an exaggerated trench coat from Burberry, for the premiere of Oh Canada, that took home first prize.
Kicking off a weekend full of cinematic pizzazz was the star-heavy Kinds Of Kindness photocall, led by its director Lanthimos. Hunter Schafer opted for a white, Prada apron-like frock styled up with a matching headscarf (part nun, part nurse). Leading lady Emma Stone was comparatively toned down in a white, belted blazer dress from Louis Vuitton, while Margaret Qualley made her statement with a oversized, straw Chanel hat.
That night, Cate Blanchett was ravishing on the Rumours red carpet, glistening in an Oscar-worthy, custom hand embroidered dress, made of gold micro glass tubes, from Louis Vuitton. Elsewhere, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana and Salma Hayek, all three wearing Saint Laurent, attended the Emilia Perez red carpet.
After that, all roads lead to the Hotel Du Cap, where The Red Sea International Film Festival's ‘Women in Cinema’ Gala was playing out in partnership with Vanity Fair Europe. Naomi Campbell was a vision in a slashed, mint green silk Loewe gown complete with deconstructed belt and buoyant up-do, joining other front runners of Cannes best dressed, Moore and Thurman, inside.
Sunday was Sienna Miller’s day. In town with boyfriend Oli Green and 11-year-old daughter (with ex Tom Sturridge) Marlowe, the actor, who is promoting her new film Horizon: An American Saga, enlisted the help of London stylist Harry Lambert to perfect her red carpet gown — a floating, blue Chloé dress, similar to the outfit she wore to the Met Gala earlier this month — and Schiaparelli jeans and a cream, tweed blazer for the photocall.
There was no doubt Horizon’s was the flashiest red carpet of the festival so far, as Julianne More strode out in a green, Bottega Veneta column dress, Michelle Yeoh wore a fringe leather skirt gown, also by Bottega, and Isabelle Huppert wore a custom, Balenciaga “Belted Bathrobe” frock, in white frayed silk embroidery. Demi Moore, in asymmetric Schiaparelli, and Margaret Qualley, in 1920s-flapper style, drop waist Chanel gown, were equally eye-catching on the The Substance red carpet on Sunday night, too.
On Monday evening, Bella Hadid made her first Cannes red carpet appearance since 2022 as she attended The Apprentice premiere in a sheer, ruched Saint Laurent naked dress. The woman dubbed “queen of Cannes”, thanks to stellar previous outings, was sure to make a splash. US model Winnie Harlow joined her, and wore a loud, pearl and tweed suit from Tamara Ralph complete with a matching white hat that resembled trellis fencing. Cate Blanchett also attended the opening of the film which looks back to Donald Trump’s early years, and made the case for “shoulder necklaces” as she flaunted no less than 633 diamonds and 82 pearls from Louis Vuitton High Jewellery around her upper body.
The competing film on Monday night was "The Shrouds, a horror directed by David Cronenberg which stars Diane Kruger, who looked statuesque in a blue Atelier Versace gown which fans have expressed represents “a return to form”. She was joined by Iris Law and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who both wore Saint Laurent, and Greta Gerwig, in custom, off-shoulder Prada.
Bella Hadid made another dazzling appearance in a black sequinned skirt and nipped-in corset vintage Atelier Versace gown, from SS01, for the the screening of the film "L'Amour Ouf" but it was it was Thursday night’s amfAR Cannes Gala 30th edition at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc that stole the glamour on the penultimate evening. Demi Moore presented in a rhinestone-heavy, silver gown joining the likes of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Michelle Yeoh up on stage. Also in attendance were Maria Borges, Mariacarla Boscono, Kelly Rowland and Nick Jonas.
Here are the best looks from Cannes Film Festival 2024:
Tuesday, May 14
Wednesday, May 15
Thursday, May 16
Friday, May 17
Saturday, May 18
Sunday, May 19
Monday, May 20
