Cannes Film Festival Looks We'll Never Forget

The Cannes Film Festival always sees some of the best fashion moments of the year. Just a few short weeks after the Met Gala "warm-up" in early May, celebrities, actors, and filmmakers make their way to Cannes, France, for what we'll call the fashion Olympics. The international film festival features several days of screenings and premieres, for which attendees make their way up the iconic red carpet staircase (which emerged as a Cannes must in 1984). As such, many celebrity guests and stars of potential Palme d'Or honorees come to Cannes wearing their very best, as, while the festival is centered on film, their outfits will be on full display. 

Though there are always some style missteps, like we saw from the worst-dressed celebs at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the standout looks from the festival's events have cemented themselves in fashion history. Even before the inception of the Cannes red carpet, famous attendees made headlines with their eye-catching looks. Whether in elaborate gowns, or risqué ensembles, the Cannes Film Festival has been host to some of the most unforgettable looks of all time, from Natalie Portman's Dior moment to Rihanna's blue maternity gown. 

At the premiere of her film "May December" at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Natalie Portman stole the show in custom Christian Dior. Portman's gown was modeled after the iconic 1949 "Junon" dress; both of the eye-catching gowns featured a voluminous skirt made from many white "petals," each of which were embroidered along the hem with a variety of iridescent black beads. The "Black Swan" actor paired the dress with equally classic diamond teardrop earrings and simple white open-toed heels.

Diana Ross is not only a music icon, but a fashion icon in her own right. While many of the singer's '80s outfits look even cooler today, we're still stuck on Ross' 1973 Cannes Film Festival look. The Diana Ross & the Supremes icon wore a floor-length gem-encrusted black gown that featured a large white collar and sleeves, showing off her high-glam aesthetic and her fashion prowess.

At the closing ceremony for the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, Bollywood icon Deepika Padukone floated across the red carpet in a billowing white saree from Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. Padukone paired the saree with a wide collar made entirely of pearls, which complemented her large diamond-encrusted earrings. The star has worn many jaw-dropping looks to Cannes Film Festival events over the years, but this look is one of our favorites. 

Across her decades-long career, we've witnessed Rihanna's stunning style transformation. But, ever since her first pregnancy in 2022, the singer has revolutionized maternity style. While pregnant with third child (and first daughter!) Rocki in 2025, Rihanna took to the red carpet alongside partner A$AP Rocky at the Cannes Film Festival. The "Love on the Brain" singer looked stunning in a custom Alaïa gown with coy cut-outs that showed off her baby bump. 

Even though Princess Diana's wardrobe changed after leaving the royal family, the humanitarian wore some of her most iconic looks while still married to then-Prince Charles. Diana attended the 1987 Cannes Film Festival premiere of "The Whales of August" alongside her then-husband, where she donned an elegant pale-blue chiffon dress and matching scarf designed by Catherine Walker. The Princess of Wales' gown paid homage to Grace Kelly, who wore a similar dress in the 1955 Alfred Hitchcock film "To Catch a Thief."

Pamela Anderson is a style icon, no doubt. Anderson attended the premiere of her film "Barb Wire" at the 48th Cannes Film Festival in 1995 in an all-leather outfit (which was actually one of her costumes from the film). The "Baywatch" star wore a low-cut black leather corset that gave her figure an exaggerated silhouette, fitted black pants, and knee-high heeled boots. Anderson completed the look with a pair of long black gloves and her signature '90s glam. 

Three decades before Princess Diana would attend the Cannes Film Festival, Elizabeth Taylor gave royal energy at the festival herself. The Hollywood icon attended the festival's opening night in 1957 alongside husband Mike Todd in a stunning off-the-shoulder white gown, which she revealed from underneath a full-length fur coat. Taylor completed the regal look with plenty of bling, including a diamond brooch, teardrop earrings, and a flashy diamond tiara given to her by Todd.

Madonna had many best-dressed moments in the '80s, her most iconic style decade, but the singer's 1991 Cannes Film Festival look proved that her '90s era was going to be just as explosive. Madonna attended the festival for the documentary "Madonna: Truth or Dare," donning a white Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra, high-waisted undergarments, and a dramatic pink cape. Madonna's look was a self-referential nod to the cone bra bodysuit she wore in 1990 during her controversial "Blond Ambition" tour, which was the subject of the documentary.

Nobody has ever reworn a dress in quite the same iconic fashion as Naomi Campbell. The supermodel attended the premiere of "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in a slinky black dress that she'd once worn at a Chanel haute couture show in 1996. Campbell looked just as stunning at Cannes as she did on the runway 28 years prior, and even made the look more risqué by removing the black slip dress from underneath the gown.