Some of the best fashion is celebrated at the Paris Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, and New York Fashion Week. But why don’t we know about fashion through them as we know through Cannes — essentially a festival of films?

The answer is simple: The actors, well-to-do or flop, at Cannes, are pricier and better known than the best of models, a faux of ad-cum-sales and market-driven world. Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima, Rosie Huntington, and Bella Hadid are some of the top-paid women models in the world, but in terms of popularity nowhere close to the actors (especially women actors).

And thus, over a period of time, Cannes has lost its sheen as an event that is known to showcase some of the best films in the world. Now, it’s the event that garners attention for who wore what.

Renowned actress Nandita Das recently shared her nostalgic snapshots on Instagram from Cannes and voiced her concern that how the prevailing notion of the festival revolves around fashion. She wrote “Sadly missing Cannes this year. Sometimes people forget that it is a festival of films and not of clothes!…”
Deepika Padukone former jury member at the 75th Cannes film festival has always tried in her interviews to drive the focus towards the films screened rather than the brand fashion.
Richa Chadha, spotted with her husband Ali Fazal at the 76th Cannes film festival, in a film vs fashion debate shared an old picture from her movie ‘Massan’ and expressed how films are different from the influencers who make a red carpet presence for some brand even if they don’t have any films to show.
The question is will cinema remains at the heart of Cannes? Do people know what happens at the film festival? or it has already taken a back seat.

The event that receives significant media coverage, gives more focus to who wore red, yellow, or green, or did their lipsticks match the heels. In Cannes 2023 the discussion of Urvashi Rautela’s blue-coloured lipstick took more attention than the Palme d’Or.

A playground for fashion experiment

The Red carpet may be a platform for actors to showcase their sartorial look but with more international recognition brands and designers have blurred the line between the films and fashion. A playground for fashion experiment, be it the purple shade lipstick of Aishwarya Rai from Cannes 2016, or Urvashi Rautela’s Cannes 2023 green feather and sequin-adorned floor-length gown, Cannes red-carpet entries need a reboot.
A mesmerizing hairstyle, flawless complexion, size of heels, and shade of eyelash have become as much a part of the Cannes narrative as the film itself. It’s important to balance the festival’s core mission. Cannes can maintain its reputation with fashion and beauty but it’s important to strike a balance between both, however, the balance in favour of films and fashion. How about donning a Cannes look of Nandita Das?