The general consensus, at least among those who are very online, is that Anne Hathaway ‘won’ Cannes. Every outfit at the event, from the two-piece Schiaparelli suit, to the metallic Mod-ish Gucci shift and the tweed collared dress from Louis Vuitton, felt like watching revenge dressing unfurl in real time. Each outfit was a particular kind of show-them-what-they’re-missing look, the kind that comes when finding the style that feels like you and when you are, to be frank, feeling yourself. Haters? They’re gonna hate.
Anne Hathaway wears Louis Vuitton and Bulgari in Cannes. Image credit: Getty Images
It’s a style gear-shift Hathaway has demonstrated in other recent outfits too, like the rainbow Christopher John Rogers jumpsuit she wore during We Crashed press in New York. It was bold but it also felt like she was just being herself.
All of it is a reminder that style is about so much more than just choosing a dress. We really notice it when it captures a mood, and especially when it feels like a glimpse of a person’s essence.
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Erin Walshe, Hathaway’s stylist, told WWD that the actress takes fashion seriously.
“With fashion, I think she just gets it. She has this kind of encyclopaedic brain that knows what might resonate for a particular occasion. So if we’re talking about Cannes specifically, it’s not like we created these looks in a vacuum. We definitely had in mind the whole lexicon of its historical context and different silhouettes and references, and it informed what we ended up doing. But that said, one of the reasons Annie’s a brilliant actress is the same.”
Which makes sense for someone like Hathaway who, for example, went raw vegan for her role as yoga teacher turned ‘conscious-raising’ corporate wellness warrior Rebekah Neumann in We Crashed, which feels quite method.
As an actress, Hathaway is a leading proponent of the ‘take off glasses and suddenly she’s gorgeous’ trope, but at Cannes, it felt like Hathaway truly owning her style.
That she’s hit this super sweet spot aged 39 with two children is proof that you can always evolve your style, that taking risks with what you wear isn’t only for the 21-year-olds among us, and that true confidence comes with understanding all of this. Also, it was glamorous as heck. And glamour is truly an all-occasion balm.
Anne Hathaway winning Cannes. Image credit: Getty Images
Hathaway isn’t the only very famous woman right now having a style moment. There’s Sienna Miller, who has left behind the boho style that inspired many a woman in the early oughts to make questionable cowboy boots and floaty, paisley related decisions. She’s reinvented her style, and remaining as breezily inspiring as ever.
We can copy Sienna Miller’s outfits but we can’t really capture her essence. Image credit: Getty Images
French film star Isabelle Huppert, who is 68 and a longtime acolyte of Balenciaga designer Demna, repeated her knockout second-skin Balenciaga look from last year’s Cannes festival, this time in neon green.
Isabelle Huppert at Cannes. Image credit: Getty Images
Diane Keaton might be one of the original inspirations for the oatmeal-y cashmere coastal grandmother trend sweeping TikTok, but she’s also worn pieces from the Balenciaga and Gucci ‘hacking’ experiment, while Sharon Stone, 64, also ruled the Cannes red carpet this month in a skin-tight red dress with aviator sunglasses.
It’s not so much about fashion becoming less fixated on youth and more inclusive, which it is, slowly, or even that fashion rules no longer apply. It’s more-so that finding, and fine-tuning, your style is never bracketed to any age. Personal style is ageless—that means as much to teenagers wearing oatmeal cashmere on TikTok as it does women in their ’60s in cut-outs.
Sharon Stone at Cannes. Image credit: Getty Images
Jennifer Connelly, who reprises her role from the original 1986 Top Gun role in the nostalgia-inducing sequel, Top Gun: Maverick this month, has been doing press in chic and sharp mini-skirts, such as the black Louis Vuitton blouse and miniskirt she wore for an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Jennifer Connelly in New York earlier this year. Image credit: Getty Images
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All of this proves that while reinvention is always possible, and eternally alluring—see Anne Hathaway vehicles such as The Devil Wears Prada and also Princess Diaries, so too is sticking to your truest self. Tinkering with this along the way, taking some risks is all part of it.
Just last month another inimitable style icon, Icelandic singer Björk, made a rare red carpet appearance. Appearing at the Icelandic premiere of the Viking film The Northman she wore a red dress complete with sculptural breastplate from Loewe’s spring ’22 collection. The surrealist, striking look was so Björk, so of her essence, it was a visceral reminder that dressing for yourself is always the ultimate revenge look.
And it’s always the best way to ‘win’ the red carpet.
