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Halle Berry has been forced to change her Cannes Film Festival opening night gala dress to abide by the event’s new red carpet rules.
On Monday, the day before the 12-day festival was set to commence, organizers updated their dress code, banning “nudity” as well as “voluminous outfits, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater.”
Speaking at Tuesday’s Cannes jury press conference, Berry told reporters: “I had an amazing dress by Gupta that I cannot wear tonight because it’s too big of a train.
“I’m not going to break the rules. The nudity part is also probably a good rule,” Berry added.
Following the new mandate, Cannes press officers clarified the policy, saying: “The aim is not to regulate attire per se, but to prohibit full nudity on the red carpet, in accordance with the institutional framework of the event and French law.”
The new rule coincides with a rising trend in “naked dresses” worn by celebrities.
Last year, Bella Hadid stepped out for the French film festival in a brown, see-through Saint Laurent halter-neck gown that exposed her entire chest.
Meanwhile, the ban on voluminous outfits in order to help the flow of red carpet traffic comes after a female security guard at last year’s festival faced backlash for clashing with several celebrities, including Dominican actor Massiel Taveras.
At the time, viral videos of the altercation showed Taveras stopping on the iconic red carpet staircase as she tried to straighten out her dress’s lengthy train, embellished with an intricate illustration of Jesus Christ adorned in a crown of thorns. However, the security guard appeared to place her arm over Taveras’ head and chest as she attempted to usher her inside, while other guards grabbed the train, scrunching it up and carrying it up the stairs.
The day before, the same female security guard made headlines after she clashed with Kelly Rowland. In footage of the incident, the former Destiny’s Child star was seen making her way along the red carpet, smiling and posing for pictures, with the security guard following behind and guiding her away from the cameras as she attempted to stand for more photos.
The guard then appeared to accidentally step on the train of the singer’s dress while continuing to place her hand close to Rowland’s back. The singer turned around to speak sternly to the security guard, who appeared not to back down, before Rowland raised her finger to visibly scold her.
Colleagues of the guard later defended her actions, telling the Daily Mail she was “just doing her job.”
The 2025 Cannes Film Festival returns to the French Riviera and runs from May 13 to May 24. It is scheduled to open with the premieres of several standout films, including Ari Aster’s Eddington, Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, and the Tom Cruise-starring Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
This year’s jury is led by French actor Juliette Binoche, who will judge the competition alongside Berry, Succession star Jeremy Strong, Indian writer and director Payal Kapadia, Italian actor Alba Rohrwacher, Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas, French-Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani, Congolese filmmaker Dieudo Hamadi, and South Korean director and screenwriter Hong Sang-soo.
English (US) ·