It’s understood that the banning of large trains and skirts is meant to speed up the flow of red carpet arrivals, as people wearing large gowns take a while to get down the carpet, and talents reportedly have a fixed 10-minute slot. In recent years, the carpet has become crowded with influencers looking to disrupt and cause a scene by wearing the “craziest, most insane, biggest thing they can find,” says Pisano, who has attended the festival for the last 14 years. “They take up the most space on the red carpet and everybody gets clogged up,” he says. “You’ve got 2,000, 3,000 people that have to get into this theater.”
As for sheer dresses, the rationale of “decency” is a little murkier. Though Pisano understands the long train regulation, he says that this rule reads as reductive and restrictive. Online, commentators agree. “They only allow nudity when the industry is profiting from it, I guess,” stylist and commentator Beyzanur Apaydin tweeted. “I understand big gowns and dresses with trains complicate the seating arrangements—but why nudity when it also exists on the screen of the theatre that they will be sitting at?”
Forde sees both sides. “I understand some logic in keeping the focus on the films rather than the fashion, but this is a festival about artistic expression, so you should be able to express yourself as an artist, with your style however you feel,” she says. Stylist Maeve Reilly, whose clients include singer and actor Coco Jones, actor Eva Longoria, and actor and personality La La Anthony, says the last-minute change is a disappointment. “Cannes is one of the most glamorous and exciting red carpets, and I’ve always loved seeing the extravagant gowns and couture pieces that grace the Palais steps.”
The lack of specifics in requirements could cause issues, says fashion critic Luke Meagher (known online as HauteLeMode). “You’d have to have measurements of what is too long or too voluminous of a gown. And with the nudity element, is it up to each red carpet official’s discretion? Is it certain rules that will be applied, whether it’s bare bodice nudity versus full nudity?”
For most brands, the grey area won’t be worth the risk. Cannes is a major opportunity, and nailing red carpet looks at the festival can drive brand awareness. Last year, Cannes Film Festival garnered $86.3 million in earned media value (EMV) on Instagram, according to influencer marketing platform Lefty. Saint Laurent was the buzziest brand, generating $14.1 million EMV, of which 10 per cent was driven by Bella Hadid’s caramel colored naked dress, that would now be forbidden.