The 2025 Cannes Film Festival's Best-Dressed Stars Ask, "What Dress Code?"

If the new Cannes Film Festival dress code intended to turn the focus away from stars' fashion entirely, the earliest entries on 2025's best-dressed list prove it backfired.

24 hours before Cannes regulars like Bella Hadid and Eva Longoria descended onto the red carpet, the festival's organizers unveiled a fresh—and controversial—set of wardrobe restrictions. Cascading, voluminous trains were forbidden to speed up step-and-repeat traffic. "Nudity," perceived as an outright attack on celebrities' favorite naked dresses, was banned in the name of "decency." The restrictions set off an online debate over the policy's murky connotations. Stylist Karla Welch called it "lame and patriarchal" on Instagram Stories, while stylist Maeve Reilly told Vogue Business the new restrictions were a "disappointment."

In the lead up to the opening ceremony on May 13, it seemed A-listers' teams would have to scramble behind the scenes to ensure their clients could meet the moment—whether they agreed with the policy or not. So far, Cannes' best-dressed have still delivered plenty of glamour. If any of their pieces were a hail Mary request, it doesn't show.

For the first slate of premieres, Bella Hadid's Saint Laurent dress styled by Molly Dickson delivered heart-stopping proportions without baring much skin, and Julia Garner's sequin gown by Gucci deftly blended textures. These are only the start: The 2025 Cannes Film Festival lasts through Saturday, May 24, and each day will bring dozens more sightings of runway and custom couture. Some styling will no doubt test the Cannes dress code's limits; we say, bring it on.

Below, catch up on the best-dressed stars attending the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, updated daily with more memorable (and dress-code-approved) looks.

Bella Hadid wearing Saint Laurent

It's only the first day of the Cannes Film Festival, but it's already decided: a freshly blonde Bella Hadid will appear on the best-dressed list more than once. She made a strong first showing at the May 13 premiere of Partir Un Jour in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello—the same house behind her memorable first look at last year's circuit. The cross-back gown in black satin, paired with rhinestone-adorned heels and oversize emerald earrings, showed expert restraint. It perfectly balanced what it revealed and concealed, even as the back cut low and the slit went sky high.

Julia Garner wearing Gucci

Julia Garner's second time attending the Cannes Film Festival is already her best—and her most Gucci. After greeting photographers in a head-to-toe look from the Pre-Fall 2025 collection, she changed into a bespoke draped dress by the house for the opening ceremony and Partir Un Jour premiere. She didn't need a body-baring naked dress to catch fashion editors' attention: the contrasting textures at play between her nude sequin base layer and swaths of draped black sheer fabric were plenty to behold.

Eva Longoria wearing Tamara Ralph Couture

Eva Longoria is one of the Cannes Film Festival's undisputed queens. 2025 marks twenty years of Longoria appearances at the annual event, where she typically feels an urge to "color outside the lines" with her red carpet style.

After spending the morning in a skintight, sequin naked dress, Longoria changed into a Tamara Ralph Couture gown with mirrorball-esque panels and a thin black train. The fabric's high shine and contrasting textures brought all the drama one expects from Cannes—without tipping off the dress-code police.

Irina Shayk wearing Armani Privé

The last time model Irina Shayk attended the Cannes Film Festival, in 2023, she paired a leather bikini top and low-rise skirt by Mowalola with a hulking Messika diamond necklace. Two years later, she took the new dress code to heart with a diametrically opposed Armani Privé look. Her frothy strapless dress twinkled like starlight with all-over silver detailing, while a high half-updo and elbow-length gloves provided some old-world charm. This is the kind of swerve that makes the changing look of Cannes feel a little more welcome—that is, when it helps us see a celebrity we think we know in an entirely new style.