Sorry, Bianca Censori (and those who followed her daring Grammys look). If you were hoping to stroll down the Red Carpet at Cannes this year, you’ll need to cover up.
The iconic Cannes Film Festival, kicking off May 13 in France, has just released its official dress code. And there’s one very clear guideline: nudity is a no-go.
“For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the Red Carpet, as well as in any other area of the Festival,” the festival’s website reads.
This new rule is likely to disappoint some, particularly celebrities known for pushing the boundaries of fashion with daringly revealing outfits, like Censori. She made headlines earlier this year when she attended the Grammys with her husband, Ye (formerly Kanye West), in a sheer dress that left little to the imagination, exposing her body to photographers and spectators alike.
Experts in fashion and sociology have noted that this trend of naked red carpet attire speaks volumes about gender, power, and autonomy in contemporary culture. However, the extreme embodiment of this trend by figures like Censori and Ye may signal the end of an era—one where nudity was the ultimate statement—and the potential for a new trend to emerge.
Lorynn Divita, a professor of apparel design and merchandising and author of Fashion Forecasting, summed it up succinctly: “The only thing you can count on in fashion is that what goes up must come down.” She suggests that over time, “people will get tired, and the cycle will change.”
Nudity, of course, is a complex subject that means different things to different people. For some, it’s a symbol of sexual empowerment and liberation; for others, it can represent degradation or objectification. Think back to 1998 when Rose McGowan made a bold statement by wearing a sheer dress at the MTV Video Music Awards. McGowan, a key figure in the #MeToo movement, later explained that her revealing look was a reclaiming of control over her body following her sexual assault by disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
“It was my first big public appearance after being sexually assaulted,” McGowan shared with Yahoo! Entertainment. “It was like the end of Gladiator when he comes out and says, ‘Are you not entertained?’ And if you look at me, I did it with power. I didn’t do it with my hand on my hip to be sexy.”
So, is nudity degrading or empowering? It’s the question everyone seems to ask when discussing Bianca Censori’s now-infamous red carpet appearance. Though McGowan faced significant backlash at the time, she felt her critics missed the deeper message she was sending. “Most of the women who’ve dressed like that on the red carpet did it as a calculated, sexy move to turn people on. Mine was like, ‘I’m gonna mess with your brain.’”
Censori and Ye’s controversial look, however, likely came with different intentions. Shira Tarrant, a professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and author of The Pornography Industry: What Everyone Needs to Know, argues that the image of Censori, naked, next to Ye in a full suit wasn’t just about her. It was a power play by Ye, demonstrating his control not only over Censori but over the viewer as well.
The public didn’t consent to seeing Censori’s naked body when she shed her coat on the red carpet. Likewise, anyone scrolling through social media that week was involuntarily bombarded with images of the moment.
Now, with the Cannes dress code, it seems the pendulum may finally be swinging in the opposite direction.
If you’re tired of seeing nudity on the red carpet, the Cannes announcement might be just the beginning of a new era. Over the past few decades, fashion in American pop culture has become increasingly revealing, leaving little to the imagination. At some point, shocking audiences through nudity became a near-expected norm at high-profile events.
With the trend feeling exhausted, fashion experts like Divita suggest that a shift is imminent. In the fickle world of fashion, once a trend has been overdone, its opposite is likely on the way. Could this signify the start of a new trend? Something less focused on shock value and more on refined elegance? Only time will tell.
