Elle Fanning has a reputation for delivering exciting fashion at Cannes Film Festival. From the romantic gowns she’s worn on the red carpet (think custom Vivienne Westwood and classic Dior) to the Riviera-ready ensembles she’s pulled for photo calls, the actor has always been one to watch on the Croisette. But this year, thanks to an eclectic—and fabulous—series of looks for the opening days of the festival, she appears to be outdoing herself.
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As Fanning knows, Nice Côte d’Azur Airport is where the fashion begins at this film festival. She wafted through the terminal wearing wide-leg trousers, a ribbed T-shirt, and flip-flops from The Row, looking fresh-faced ahead of the red-carpet whirlwind to come.
At the opening ceremony, she kicked things off with what might be her best Cannes look to date: a bespoke Alexander McQueen creation—decorated with exquisite hand-embroidered bugle beads and crystals—which she described as a “work of art.”
“The time we shared and the artistry I witnessed from [Sarah Burton] in the McQueen London studio are a memory I will cherish forever,” she told Vogue of her “dress of dreams.”
Next came a Bottega Veneta LBD, an ethereal lace dress by Rodarte, and a cornflower blue slip from Khaite—complete with a Princess Diana–esque neck scarf in the same shade. Those luxe flip-flops from The Row cropped up again in the famed Hôtel Martinez lobby, styled with a stripy shirt, a pair of wide-leg trousers (also The Row), and Bottega Veneta’s cult Sardine bag—proof that this starlet can do off-duty cool just as well as she does princess gowns. Further evidence came on Friday in the form of the diaphanous dress she styled over jeans, adding buckled shoes and a chain mail bag.
After all the demure hemlines and relaxed shirting, Fanning flipped the script once again. “Now this is a party dress,” she wrote on Instagram of her daring silver Paco Rabanne dress, with a sculptural, barely there bodice that just about preserved her modesty. (The precise fit eliminated the risk of wardrobe malfunctions.) The film prizes haven’t been dished out yet, but she deserves full marks for keeping fashion fans guessing.
This article first appeared on British.
