The Fashion Eclipse in Cannes

Inside the fashion industry’s takeover of the prestigious film festival

Cory Michael Smith, Julianne Moore in Louis Vuitton, Todd Haynes, Natalie Portman in vintage Dior couture and Charles Melton attend the "May December" red carpet
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Once upon a less woke time, Cannes was thick with topless beach babes who got attention for taking off their clothes, not wearing them. 

Now it’s the clothes that compel attention – attracting social posts, press, obsessive comment. And once upon a less greedy time, designers cast stars whose images aligned with theirs. Now it’s everything, everyone, all at once.

Case in point: most A-list actresses did double duty at this year’s festival: promoting films while fulfilling contracts as the faces of luxury brands. It’s pay-for-sashay for stars who covet what one Oscar-winning actress euphemistically referred to as “Kardashian money! You can’t make that in movies anymore!” But you can inch closer with a fat Louis Vuitton, Dior or Chanel contract.

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