If you’re not someone walking a red carpet in the South of France to promote your movie, you’ve most likely seen some coverage of the expansive festival pop up on various social media known as The Cannes Film Festival. Everyone from BuzzFeed to Vanity Fair is providing rundowns of films, stars, and most notably, red carpet fashion.
Goldfinch Entertainment
The lengthy 11-day festival comes around once a year, and over the 69 years it’s been around it has premiered hundreds of films, been the site of many a red carpet moment, and has invited much controversy. This year is no different. At halfway through the festival, anticipated films such as Steven Spielberg's "BFG" and Park Chan-Wook’s "Mademoiselle" have premiered, celebrities including Susan Sarandon have made statements on the red carpet, and yes, controversy continues. There was a grossly off-color rape joke made in the name of Woody Allen, Juliette Binoche accused Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese of a lack of female-centered storylines in their films, and of course, the ongoing war over appropriate footwear continues.
The Guardian
For those not up to date on the history of “heelgate,” here’s a refresher course. The Cannes Film Festival prides itself not only on premiering quality films; it also takes pains to make sure that a certain standard of french fashion is upheld. This manifests itself in all of the dramatic looks seen at Cannes, but also in the rule that women must wear high heels. In a dramatic fashion fitting for a French film festival, the festival has turned women away from the red carpet for daring to wear flats, regardless of age or even medical reasons.
However, celebrities are going around the rule in an equally theatrical fashion. Last year Emily Blunt and the rest of the "Sicario" cast spoke out against the rule in their press conference where Blunt famously said that she’d rather wear “Converse sneakers” instead. This year Kristen Stewart decided to wear sneakers for part of the festival and Susan Sarandon chose to wear a suit and flats instead of the customary gown and heels on the red carpet. And Julia Roberts decided to forego any shoes at all, taking off her heels to walk the red carpet for her film barefoot.
Telegraph.co.uk
Now, I understand that the details of women's shoe choice at a festival halfway around the world do not an interesting topic make, but the impact of this becomes all the more important when thought of in terms of the fashion expectations of women in general and at work. These women might be in Cannes to put on fancy dresses, pose for publicity shots, and do interviews, but they are ultimately there to work and to celebrate the hard work they have already contributed to their films.
As evidenced by the reactions to costume designer Jenny Beavan at the Oscars and the BAFTAs, when women don’t feel comfortable in traditional red carpet attire and wear what they like, society tends to focus not on the incredible work or the awards, but rather on what the woman decided to put on her body. Although, it’s not much different when women do comply with red carpet beauty standards.
Huffington Post
When it comes down to it, female filmmakers, and even festival viewers for that matter, have been told that their attire matters more than their right to experience the festival and to do their jobs properly. Let’s hope this trend doesn’t continue into next year's festival.
