The bare-skin ban is back on the French Riviera.
The Cannes Film Festival 2026, which kicked off Monday and runs through May 23, is enforcing a strict dress code that puts sheer gowns and extravagant trains on the official no-fly list.
According to the festival’s charter, “nudity is prohibited on the Red Carpet, as well as in any other area of the Festival” for “decency reasons.” Also banned: “voluminous outfits, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater.”
Sneakers, tote bags, backpacks and oversize purses are no-gos at gala screenings, too.
As for what does pass muster? Evening wear — a long dress or tuxedo — is required for Grand Théâtre Lumière gala screenings, though a cocktail dress, “little black dress,” dark-colored pantsuit or dressy top with black pants are also ok.
Organizers are serious about the rules: the charter warns that “welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit Red Carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.”
The black-tie mandates only apply to evening galas, though. “For all other screenings, proper attire is sufficient,” the charter notes.
It’s unclear whether or not jeans and sneakers are acceptable — though Meadow Walker has already walked that thin line this week, hitting Wednesday’s “The Fast and the Furious” 25th anniversary photo call in Celine jeans and a blazer.
The rules first went into effect at the 2025 festival, where they caused an immediate kerfuffle for stars and their styling teams.
Halle Berry was forced to ditch her Gaurav Gupta gown at the last minute because its train was too long. “I had to make a pivot,” the Oscar winner said at a news conference. Heidi Klum, meanwhile, flouted the new rules, sweeping up the steps at the opening ceremony in a riot of Elie Saab ruffles, including a dramatic train.
Skin-baring looks have long been a Cannes signature. Bella Hadid’s sheer Saint Laurent number at the 2024 premiere of “The Apprentice” and her plunging Alexandre Vauthier gown from 2016 — which the model later said made her “embarrassed” — are among the festival’s most talked-about fashion moments.
The dress code isn’t Cannes’ first foray into fashion policing. In 2015, a group of women were turned away from the premiere of “Carol” for wearing flats, sparking what became known as “Heelgate.” Kristen Stewart took aim at the unwritten high-heels mandate three years later, removing her Louboutins and walking barefoot up the famed Palais steps.
Stewart kept up the protest later that week in loafers and a menswear-inspired Chanel suit, telling Vanity Fair, “If [a man and I] were walking the red carpet together and someone stopped me and said, ‘Excuse me, young lady, you’re not wearing heels. You cannot come in’ — then [I’m going to say], ‘Neither is my friend. Does he have to wear heels?’”
The updated charter now permits “elegant shoes and sandals with or without a heel” — a quiet concession after years of backlash. (Though we’re guessing Jennifer Lawrence’s accidental flip-flops from 2023 still wouldn’t make the cut.)
Whether anyone tests the boundaries again this year remains to be seen — but the Palais staircase is watching.
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