By Michaela Gordoni
In an effort to keep things professional, the renowned Cannes Film Festival has a new red-carpet rule: no nudity.
The update comes amid the recent trend of nude/sheer dresses, AP News reported on May 12.
A Cannes press officer said the policy “made explicit in its charter certain rules that have long been in effect.”
“The aim is not to regulate attire per se, but to prohibit full nudity on the red carpet, in accordance with the institutional framework of the event and French law,” it said.
It also restricted “voluminous outfits” and those with large trains, as they obstruct traffic flow and make seating difficult.
“The festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules,” the dress code section reads.
In the past, officers have turned away women for not wearing heels, and selfies were banned in 2018. According to AP News, Cannes director Thierry Frémaux called them “grotesque.”
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“Cannes has always been a stickler for the rules and enforcing etiquette with dressing, so I am not totally surprised,” said stylist Rose Forde. “I have spent many an evening Googling ‘is X allowed on the Cannes carpet’ in the past, even with menswear looks.”
Culture critic Louis Pisano says most stars do wear elegant evening wear, and it’s mainly influencers who crowd the carpet with bombastic outfits.
“They take up the most space on the red carpet and everybody gets clogged up,” he said. “You’ve got 2,000, 3,000 people that have to get into this theatre. It’s mostly just brand ambassadors and influencers that this is going to affect,” he said.
The Cannes Festival will run from May 13 to 24. The Hollywood Reporter estimates that more people will keep up with Cannes events this year due to the outfit news.
As culture has pivoted toward the ostentatious and explicit, the Cannes rule may come as a surprise to many. But the fact that the festival’s officials think attention doesn’t need to be drawn to the actors’ bodies is a positive thing. Cannes is making a point here.
Actors’ value, in terms of career, is in their performance — how well they play the characters they play, and that has nothing to do with showing skin. Anyone can wear something scandalous, but well-deserved attention should be reserved for the work they do. It would be wonderful if other festivals and award shows thought in a similar fashion.
Read Next: Movieguide Cannes Report
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