Cannes Film Festival Bans The Naked Dress On The Red Carpet
The Cannes Film Festival has placed new restrictions on red carpet attire—banning sheer gowns, overt nudity, and voluminous silhouettes—potentially upending the wardrobe planning of Hollywood’s most daring dressers
There’s a whisper of change on the Croisette. As the world’s most glamorous film festival readies for its 2025 edition today, Cannes has issued a freshly updated dress code, quietly tightening the reigns on the red carpet theatrics of recent years. The announcement comes with the steely, measured language of institutional formality: nudity—however artfully styled—is now officially off-limits, as are the sweeping, voluminous gowns that have become ubiquitous for step-and-repeats.
“For reasons of decency, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet,” states the official charter, with the kind of Parisian restraint that says far more than it reveals. Also under scrutiny: billowing silhouettes and dramatic trains, now deemed impractical and obstructive to the smooth flow of guests. While the directive may appear sudden, the film festival has also stated that these are not new expectations, but rather a clarification of long-standing codes. “The intention is not to regulate fashion,” said the Cannes Press Office “but to maintain a standard of presentation in line with French law and the identity of the festival.”
Of course, anyone with an experienced eye on the Riviera’s most photographed staircase will recall the many nude and naked dresses that have graced its steps—from translucent tulle, to strategic embellishments, and the perennial barometer of how much skin is too much. Think Elle Fanning in gauzy chiffon, Bella Hadid’s wearing a 10 denier dress from the Saint Laurent A/W24 collection, or the ruffled Schiaparelli gown worn by Kendall Jenner in 2018 that did more than free the nipple. It freed two. Even activist moments have unfolded in the glare of the camera flashes, such as the topless protestor in 2022 making a pro-Ukraine statement through disrobing.
Yet the current climate around celebrity dressing has shifted subtly but surely. Bianca Censori’s near-nude turn at the Grammys, flanked by Kanye West, and the now-infamous Tems ‘cloud dress’ moment at the Oscars—where many guests’ visibility was quite literally obscured thanks to her enormous hood—appear to have moved the needle on what the governing bodies are willing to tolerate in the name of fashion.
Cannes, ever the custodian of classic glamour, is choosing a return to decorum. And while black-tie dress codes for the Grand Théâtre Lumière have long been enforced—suggesting long gowns, tuxedos, and a strict no to oversized bags, risqué dressing isn’t the only forbidden fruit—festival director Thierry Frémaux famously banned red carpet selfies in 2015, also deemed to be too tacky for the illustrious event.
It remains to be seen how much the A-List will adhere to the new rules. When appearing in one of her most naked outfits at the Festival ever, a chainmail dress by Alexandre Vauthier, Kendall Jenner famously posted ‘Oops’ as her Instagram caption. Perhaps some stars may simply fail to get the memo. There’s no question that many of Hollywood’s most famous names will still fight to steal the limelight, so we may be about to see a new approach to attention-seeking dressing, but there will definitely be plenty of opportunity to dissect, just how naked, is naked?
Lead image courtesy: X/@hunter
