The 78th Cannes Film Festival is ushering in a new era of modesty, as organisers implement stricter dress codes in a bid to refocus attention on cinema rather than red carpet spectacle. With the red carpet often overshadowed in recent years by increasingly revealing celebrity fashion, this year’s guidelines stress “good old fashioned decency” as the festival reclaims its image.
The revised rules, aimed at curbing risqué or overly provocative outfits, come into force as French director Amélie Bonnin’s Leave One Day opens the ceremony. While the festival has always maintained a formal dress code, this year’s explicit crackdown on nudity and suggestive attire marks a notable shift in tone.
The organisers’ statement cited the need to “uphold the dignity of the occasion and protect the spirit of artistic celebration,” urging guests to adhere to the new expectations out of respect for the art form and the international audience the festival draws.
The Cannes Film Festival has formally banned nudity and provocative attire from its red carpet, directly targeting the recent wave of “naked dresses” worn by celebrities. According to official festival documentation, this crackdown is “for decency reasons,” and explicitly prohibits nudity not only on the red carpet but across all festival venues.
The directive states:
“The festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.”
This firm stance aims to curb the growing spectacle around revealing fashion choices that, organisers argue, have detracted from the festival’s cinematic focus. Guests will now face stricter screening at entrances, with staff empowered to deny access to those whose attire doesn’t meet the newly defined standards.
The Cannes Film Festival’s new dress code policy appears to be a response to mounting concern over the red carpet’s shift from a celebration of cinema to a fashion spectacle dominated by attention-grabbing, often risqué outfits. The updated rules are now formally outlined in a newly released festival-goers’ charter and reflect a broader effort to restore what organisers call “decency” and cinematic focus.
Key points include:
Mandatory conservative dress at the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière, the festival’s most prestigious venue.
Permitted attire includes suits, tuxedos, floor-length gowns, classic black dresses, pant-suits, cocktail dresses, and elegant sandals—with or without heels.
Prohibited: Nudity and overtly revealing outfits, especially “naked dresses.”
The crackdown follows years of headlines being dominated by fashion choices rather than the films. A notable example was Bella Hadid’s 2021 appearance in a revealing Schiaparelli gown that drew global media coverage.
While the influence of French TV broadcasters like France Télévisions (who air the event) has not been confirmed, their aversion to broadcasting nudity may have been a contributing factor.
Bella Hadid’s provocative 2024 appearance—going completely braless under a sheer brown dress at the premiere of The Apprentice, a biopic about Donald Trump—was widely seen as one of the final straws prompting Cannes’ new decency rules. Her choice of outfit reportedly left guests “speechless,” reinforcing the festival’s growing reputation for boundary-pushing red carpet fashion rather than its cinematic offerings.
This year’s ceremony opens amid political tension, notably Trump’s vow to impose tariffs on international films if re-elected—a move that could deeply impact the global nature of events like Cannes.
As always, the festival remains a major hub for international film premieres and deals, with the Palme d’Or as its most coveted prize. Filmmakers like Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho have likened presenting at Cannes to entering a “Colosseum,” where films are dissected under intense scrutiny.#newsafro_
