By Alegria Haro
Reds, pinks, prints and Chopard diamonds are setting the tone on the Cannes red carpet this year, and honestly, we’re here for it.
Every year, Cannes tells us something about the moment. The films do it first, of course, but the clothes usually follow. This season is all about joymaxxing and the return of colour: bright pinks, deep reds, expressive gowns, graphic prints and Chopard diamonds catching the light from every angle.
Barbara Palvin and Dylan Sprouse make the perfect opening image. At the Trophée Chopard photocall, Palvin wore a gorgeous pink Willy Chavarria SS26 gown, complemented by Chopard jewelry, while Sprouse stood beside her in black tailoring.
Demi Moore took bright pink somewhere almost radioactive. In Matières Fécales Haute Couture FW26 “The One Percent” and Chopard, she wore a hot pink Silk Déchiré Debutante Ball Gown with matching MF x Christian Louboutin satin bow pumps. A debutante dress, technically. A sweet little bow moment, technically. Except nothing about it was meant to be sweet.
Moore kept the temperature high in custom Gucci and Chopard at the Fatherland premiere, shifting from Matières Fécales’ surreal volume to Gucci’s sculptural red. The gown framed her face with folded fabric before falling into a clean column silhouette, giving the look a severity that made the colour feel even more deliberate.
Another red moment came from Kristen Stewart at the Full Phil premiere in Chanel Fall/Winter 2026/27. The contrast of black threads and vivid red embroidery gave the look a sharper, more graphic charge without losing its Chanel polish.
Cannes has a long memory when it comes to dress codes, and Stewart knows exactly how to disturb that memory without making it feel like a gimmick. The dress had polish, but the sneakers under the hem changed the entire temperature of the look, pulling it into something more lived in and unmistakably hers.
Carla Bruni took the graphic thread somewhere wilder in custom Roberto Cavalli and Chopard. The black-and-white animal-print gown felt glossy, feline and even a little dangerous.
The menswear story entered the same world of shine and colour through Colman Domingo. In custom Valentino and Boucheron, he wore a purple sequined silk shirt, high-waisted trousers and an airy cape-like layer that moved with the Cannes wind. It had a distinctly 70s glamour to it: dramatic, fluid, and much less predictable than the usual festival tuxedo.
The Boucheron Lavallière brooch did not feel like an add-on. It was the centre of the look, turning the collar into its own jewelry moment. Domingo has become one of the rare men on a red carpet who understands that tailoring can carry fantasy too. Formal, yes. Quiet, absolutely not.
BamBam took the brooch in a slightly different direction with Louis Vuitton. His black double-breasted tuxedo, flared trousers, white cotton shirt, black silk tie and LV City Chelsea boots kept the silhouette classic, but the Fortune brooch from Louis Vuitton’s Mythica High Jewelry Collection gave the look its point of interest. The detail matters here. It shows how jewelry is no longer sitting outside menswear as decoration. It is becoming part of the structure.
Prada also had a brooch moment with Diego Calva. At the Her Private Hell red carpet, he wore a black mohair tuxedo, white poplin shirt and black leather lace-ups, with a slim lapel brooch adding a clean dash of light to the look.
The 70s mood did not stop at menswear. Dua Lipa appeared at La Plage Nespresso in archival Jean Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer 2009, bringing the shine into full disco territory. The mirror-like mini dress, all silver movement and liquid flash, recalled the era of Bob Mackie’s Cher, when clothes were made to catch the light from every angle.
Bella Hadid brought the archive conversation into a softer register with Elie Saab and Chopard. After Dua Lipa’s silver Gaultier moment, Hadid’s look felt less disco and more old-Cannes glamour. Her festival wardrobe has been heavy on vintage this year, and this was one of the clearest examples of why archive dressing still works: the dress arrives with history before anyone says a word.
That is what ties the strongest Cannes looks together this year. Colour is back, and is here to stay. Pink becomes theatrical, red turns sculptural, prints cut through, menswear finds the brooch, and archive pieces arrive with their own history already attached.
The films own the festival, of course. But this year, the red carpet is making sure it gets remembered too.