By Lucia Caporalini
The 2025 edition of the glamorous Cannes Film Festival may still be ongoing, but it has already challenged some of its usually taken-for-granted rules.
The glitzy event, arguably the most important among the cinema kermesses, is taking place from May 13-24.
This year’s international jury is led by French actress Juliette Binoche and it includes actors Halle Berry, Alba Rohrwacher and Jeremy Strong.
The festival has never shied away from challenging and shocking its audience through the selection of films it offers.
But this year it has reintroduced a rule that seemed to be forever locked away: ‘no naked dressing’ or oversized outfits for those attending evening screenings at the festival’s main venue, the Grand Théâtre Lumière.
‘Decency reasons’
Just a few days before the beginning of the event, the festival released a statement that confirmed that “for decency reasons” there would not be any “naked dressing” or “oversized outfits”, especially “those with a large train that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theatre.”
Men have also been invited to wear ‘simpler’ clothes, like tuxedos or dark suits.
Not everyone seemed to have received the memo.
‘Succession’ actor and jury member Jeremy Strong promptly broke the rule by showing up to the red carpet in a daring peach tuxedo.
‘Catwoman’ actress Halle Berry also challenged the guidelines on the second day of the festival as she strutted her way through the red carpet wearing a voluminous hot pink gown.
Earlier, she was among the first casualties of the new rule.
Berry wore a Jacquemus striped black-and-white dress for Tuesday’s Opening Ceremony – but that was not the original plan.
“I had an amazing dress by Gupta to wear, and I cannot wear it because the train’s too big,” Berry explained during a press conference.
“I had to make a pivot. But the nudity part I do think is probably also a good rule,” she added.
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‘Gross’
Online, the news prompted fierce comments.
Stylist Beyzanur Apaydin called out the festival’s decision in a tweet which read: “They only allow nudity when the industry is profiting from it I guess.
“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?”
Others have pointed out that while dresses seem to be an object of controversy at the festival, the presence of certain personalities is not.
Speaking about American actor Ezra Miller, who showed up unexpectedly on the red carpet in support of ‘Die My Love’ director Lynne Ramsay, a user tweeted: “This jerk who physically and verbally assaulted multiple people (…), being allowed to walk the carpet at Cannes, while festival directors have the gall to dictate to women what type of dresses and shoes to wear in the name of decorum, is gross.”
Cannes also made headlines this year when it banned French actor Theo Navarro-Mussy from its red carpet due to sexual assault allegations against him.
It is a first for the festival, which has famously allowed the presence of controversial actors and directors in the past despite their legal adventures – famed American actor Johnny Depp and Polish director Roman Polanski being among them.
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