A small necklace with a weighty message.
Bella Hadid always turns heads on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, but on Tuesday, it was a subtle piece of jewelry that drew the most attention.
The supermodel wore a gold key pendant with teeth cut in the shape of historic Palestine, strung on a simple black leather cord.
The key is one of the most enduring symbols of Palestinian identity. When more than 700,000 Palestinians were displaced during the 1948 Nakba — Arabic for “catastrophe” — many fled carrying little more than the keys to their homes, believing they would return within days.
Those keys became family heirlooms, carried across generations as symbols of what Palestinians call the “right of return.”
Hadid wore the necklace four days after Nakba Day, observed annually on May 15. She let the piece shine against an all-black outfit: a backless Tom Ford turtleneck and matching low-slung trousers, accented with a skinny leather belt slung across her bare waist.
The model’s father, Mohamed Hadid, was born to a Palestinian family, and she often uses fashion to highlight her heritage.
At the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, she walked the Croisette in a vintage Michael and Hushi dress made from keffiyeh fabric, the traditional checkered cloth that’s become a global marker of Palestinian solidarity.
Between videos of gala premieres and sun-kissed photo shoots, the Ôrebella founder also shared an Instagram Story condemning Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s treatment of detained activists from the Gaza-bound Sumud Flotilla.
On her Instagram profile, Hadid still has a 2021 post pinned showing a poster that reads “It’s Free Palestine ‘Til Palestine Is Free,” captioned in part: “A Palestinian girl on the cover of Vogue. The joy it brings me to say that … I won’t stop talking about the systematic oppression, pain and humility that Palestinians face on a regular basis.”
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