5 Trends We Saw on The Cannes 2018 Red Carpet
May has been a great month for us red carpet observers. The first week had blessed us with an array of heavenly looks presented by our favourite celebrities at the 2018 Met Gala Ball. Regardless of our lingering awe, the opening of the annual Cannes Film Festival 2018 was upon us the very next day, kickstarting an 11-day period of back-to-back red carpet sightings — and we were not disappointed.
We won't blame you for missing out on the last day of the film fest in favour of the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (now HRH Duchess of Sussex), though. That's why we're marking the Cannes Closing Ceremony on our own with a breakdown of all the couture looks we saw (and loved) at the French Riviera.
Dresses, we mean. The gentle skin-coloured tones of the gowns worn by Bella Hadid and Laura Harrier were easy on the eyes, with their softness lending a delicate air of grace to the bright red carpet. Not too far off the palette, powdery pastels also added a dose of sweetness to the dresses of Kiko Mizuhara and Diane Kruger.
How do you amp up the sexiness factor without looking inappropriate? Jury member Léa Seydoux showed us how when she attended the festival's opening ceremony in an extremely sheer white silk gown, the likes of which was also seen on Kendall Jenner and Cheryl Cole. There was also supermodel Natasha Poly, who turned heads in a lavender silk chiffon gown with revealing thigh-high slits. And if you're wondering how much effort it takes to craft a "barely there" dress, check out Charlotte Le Bon's grey tulle dress.
There's nothing braver than showing up to the red carpet in a dress of a matching colour. You run the risk of looking tacky, or worse: fading into the background. Thankfully, none of the ladies above had that problem. Julianne Moore kept it classy as usual with a brilliant scarlet cape dress, while Irina Shayk paid homage to Liz Hurley's iconic safety pin dress with a daring crimson cut-out gown held together by gold chains. Bella Hadid took it to another level, arriving in red from head-to-toe with a matching dress, heels and lipstick.
Sure, most of the men at the Cannes may already have been wearing one black suit or another, but the ensemble takes on a more intriguing quality when it's a woman wearing the pants. Case in point: Kristen Stewart, who channelled full-on androgyny with a blazer, an unbuttoned collared shirt, fitted trousers and loafers. Speaking of the lady tux, Isabelle Huppert showed up in a glittering Le Smoking jacket, proving once again that her appeal is as timeless as that of the iconic blazer.
Even after all that we've seen, there's still room for surprises. There was an array of unexpected colours on the red carpet, from salmon pink (see Lupita Nyong'o's tulle slip dress) to bright orange (courtesy of Liu Wen's marigold velvet dress). We think jury president Cate Blanchett did it best with her tiered-skirt gown, which featured a gradient from plum purple to tomato red to dusty blue.
