Cannes has spoken — and this year, less is not more.
In a move that has sent ripples through the fashion and film industries alike, the Cannes Film Festival has officially banned nudity on its red carpet. The legendary French festival, long known for its glamorous couture and boundary-pushing statements, is now enforcing a more conservative dress code that explicitly prohibits see-through gowns, topless moments, and flesh-baring theatrics.
The decision arrives amid growing conversations about decorum, spectacle, and the fine line between art and provocation. While Cannes has always embraced bold fashion — think Bella Hadid’s barely-there Schiaparelli look in 2021 or the myriad sheer gowns that have since followed — this year’s rulebook signals a pivot.
A New Era of Elegance?
Festival organizers framed the update as an effort to “preserve the dignity of the event” and “honor cinematic artistry over shock value.” But many in the fashion world are calling it a step backward, particularly in an age when self-expression and body positivity are championed on global stages.
Critics of the ban argue that fashion has always been political — and that censoring bodies in the name of tradition feels outdated in 2025. Still, others are welcoming a return to refinement, seeing it as a challenge to designers and stylists to innovate within new constraints.
Designers React
Several fashion houses have already hinted at how they plan to navigate the ban — by leaning into sculptural silhouettes, rich fabrics, and intricate embellishments that suggest sensuality without explicit exposure.
“It’s about suggestion now, not revelation,” one Paris-based stylist told Voir. “You can still steal the show without showing everything.”
Cannes, Reimagined
As the red carpet unrolls this month, all eyes will be on how stars respond — will they play by the rules, or find clever ways to push against them? Either way, the world will be watching. And if fashion history tells us anything, restrictions often breed the most memorable revolutions.
Stay tuned — Cannes may have banned nudity, but controversy? That’s never out of style.
