From start to finish: All the best celebrity outfits at Cannes Film Festival 2021

After a whirlwind 12 days, the 74th edition of Europe’s biggest film festival has finally drawn to a close. Cannes is a celebration of cinematography, but it was the celebrity fashion that gripped everyone’s imagination. And before the stars went home, they went big, treating us to a parade of the most stunning gowns and suits and the most outlandish of haute couture from 6 to 17 July. Long after the red carpet has been rolled up, people will still be talking about that Bella Hadid-Schiaparelli look.

Hadid has been a long-time Cannes style icon, but it seems like the fashion stakes have been raised across the board this year. Perhaps to make up for all the lost photo opportunities during Cannes’s 2020 hiatus, the dramatic looks on the red carpet are enough to rival the theatrics on the silver screens. This year’s jury president Spike Lee showed up at the opening ceremony in a hot pink Louis Vuitton suit, then took his sartorial daringness even further at the closing ceremony with a rainbow-coloured skyprint suit. At least the bold look helped distract from Lee’s gaffe when he mistakenly announced the Palme d’Or winner, Titane, at the start of the ceremony instead of at the end as per tradition.

Lee missed the memo to save the best for last when it came to the awards, but other industry veterans did just that on the fashion front: Rosamund Pike made her red carpet debut at the closing ceremony in a scarlet tulle Dior dress, while Gemma Chan put in her first-ever Cannes appearance a couple of days ago in a Valentino two-piece. And although Lee’s penchant for playful suits bookended his Cannes sojourn, there were stars who showed greater variety in their outfit choices. Tilda Swinton, for instance, swapped out her vibrant colour-blocked ensemble at The French Dispatch premiere for a white nightgown-like Chanel dress a few days later. Sharon Stone made a splash in a massive periwinkle blue Dolce&Gabbana dress bursting with three-dimensional flower embellishments, but opted for a much more classic white column gown from the same brand for the closing ceremony. 

While Stone’s final look bore a simple silhouette, it offered a touch of whimsy with its glittery silver bodice. Metallics has always been a perennial awards show style favourite, but it seems as though more celebrities than ever before are wearing it this year—an inclination towards party vibes that reflect the general optimism the world is finally opening up again. Cannes opened with both Carla Bruni and Marion Cotillard opting for one-shoulder silver gowns from Celine and Chanel respectively, and at the closing ceremony, metallics was seen on everyone ranging from Géraldine Nakache in her sparkling gold Dior set to Mélanie Laurent’s sequinned Armani Prive sheath. It wasn’t just the women with a penchant for bling either, as Timothée Chalamet showed up to the premiere for The French Dispatch in a reflective silver Tom Ford suit. 

Titane, this year’s provocative recipient of Cannes’s most prestigious award, features a complicated father-daughter relationship, but it was a much more harmonious affair for families on the red carpet. Sean Penn and his daughter Dylan showed up to the Flag Day premiere in a colour-coordinated front—he in a sleek black suit and she in a Chanel asymmetrical dress with a statement belt. Mother-daughter duo Jane Birkin and Charlotte Gainsbourg also caught our eye with their matching suits from Saint Laurent and Celine, but so did contrasting looks on the Lapidus sisters: Koukla dared to bare in a gold Dior dress with a see-through top, while Milla was more covered up in a waistcoat from the same brand. 

The stars might be gone from the south of France, but the celebration of their best style moments need not end just because the festival has. See our choices for the most eye-catching looks over the 12 days of Cannes 2021 in the gallery below.