As the Cannes Film Festival 2026 begins on Tuesday, May 12, and runs through Saturday, May 23, actors, directors, producers, and more descend on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet in support of the 21 films competing for the coveted Palme d’Or, the annual international festival’s highest honor.
With the Croisette, the region’s picturesque stretch of beautiful beaches dotted with luxury hotels and high-end shopping, serving as a backdrop, the Cannes Film Festival fashion is unique in that it’s to be admired on and off the red carpet. It’s here at the Cannes Film Festival that stars have plenty of opportunities to showcase their style. Sure, you can expect starry, world-premiere screenings at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, but there are also press conferences, photo-calls, parties, and galas galore where attendees can make a fashion statement in something as simple as jeans and a T-shirt. Last year, Elle Fanning did just that when she appeared at a photo-call for Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier’s tragicomedy (which went on to win best international feature film at the Oscars 2026), wearing a T-shirt that declared it to be a “Joachim Trier Summer.” (A few months later, After the Hunt director Luca Guadagnino would also use a photo-call—albeit at the Venice Film Festival—to send a message, turning up in a T-shirt that read, “No Dior No Dietrich.” Not only was it a callback to the slogan that actor Marlene Dietrich used to demand that designer Christian Dior create her costumes for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1950 film, Stage Fright, it also gave a sneak peek at newly appointed Dior creative director Jonathan Anderson’s direction for the fashion house.)
And because the Cannes Film Festival is where cinema, fame, money, fashion, and power all converge, you never know just who will be spotted at Cannes. Last year, Rihanna made a surprise appearance to support her partner A$AP Rocky, who was at the festival to promote his role in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest. Dressed in a cutout Alaïa gown, Rihanna stole the show as the couple made their way to the film’s premiere. Decades earlier, in 1987, it was royal couple Princess Diana and Prince Charles who surprised onlookers as they stepped out for a screening of The Whales of August by British director Lindsay Anderson, with Diana in an ice blue chiffon gown by Catherine Walker that would instantly cement its place in fashion history.
So who will be the ones to watch this year? With Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, and Ruth Negga on the jury, and Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Stewart, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander, Taylor Russell, Renate Reinsve, Javier Bardem, Rami Malek, and Rebecca Hall all expected to attend, there will be lots of fashion to look forward to.
See all the best fashion, outfits, ensembles, and accessories from the Cannes Film Festival 2026 red carpet, photo-calls, and beyond below.
And for more from the Cannes Film Festival, see the lineup, revisit the most unforgettable looks in Cannes Film Festival history, and check out the films VF staffers can’t wait to see.
