Sneakers and sheer gowns: The celebs who broke all the rules at Cannes

The red carpet at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival has more dressing rules than a strict Catholic girls’ school. It looks like rule breakers Demi Moore, Tilda Swinton and Bella Hadid won’t be elected school prefect this year.

The official website for the film festival stipulates that guests at the Grand Théâtre Lumière wear a long dress or tuxedo. You can get away with a little black dress, dark-coloured pantsuit, “a dressy top with black pants” but nudity, sneakers and tote bags are forbidden, along with “voluminous outfits, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic”.

Here are the red carpet rebels throwing caution to the wind in the south of France.

Bella Hadid in Schiaparelli

Good luck slapping supermodel Bella Hadid with a fine in a haute couture gown by Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli.

With a see-through effect and train, Hadid bent the rules in tribute to actress and fashion icon Jane Birkin’s Cannes Film Festival outfit of 1969. On that occasion, the woman who lent her name to Hermes’ most famous handbag wore a Pucci dress backwards to create a plunging neckline.

Hadid turned to the Schiaparelli atelier for an embroidered update that took 22,160 hours to make.

Tilda Swinton in Chanel

Tilda Swinton’s velvet two-piece with lavish silver embroidery hardly qualifies as dark trousers and a going-out top, but the Cannes Film Festival organisers can take their arguments to Chanel creative director Matthieu Blazy.

In a forum on AI at Cannes, Swinton said: “I believe as long as what we’re not producing is formulaic and in some way tiring for the audience, AI doesn’t have a chance.”

Swinton brought the same element of surprise to the red carpet.

Demi Moore in Self-Portrait

As a member of this year’s official jury, along with Hamnet director Chloé Zhao, Ruth Negga and Stellan Skarsgård, The Substance actor Demi Moore must have diplomatic immunity on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet.

The train of her custom Self-Portrait dress, worn to a screening of La Pola Negra, defied the rules. The label is a favourite of Catherine, Princess of Wales.

Earlier in the festival, Moore tested her immunity in a voluminous dress with gigantic bow and deliberate fraying from French label Matières Fécales. The label, which translates to Fecal Matter, has not been worn by the Princess of Wales.

Kristen Stewart in Chanel

Twilight actress Kristen Stewart does not seem like a person who dwells on rule books.

The Cannes Film Festival organisers request “elegant shoes and sandals with or without a heel (no sneakers)” on the red carpet.

Her black-and-red embroidered dress from Chanel’s autumn/winter 2026 collection meets the brief, but her vintage KOZAK 72 sneakers are a red flag. Well, we think they’re elegant.

Day 10

Day six

Day five

Day four

Day three

Day two

Opening ceremony

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.