Saint Laurent Celebrates Elegance Supreme at Cannes

Isabelle Huppert and Laetitia Casta wear Saint Laurent

Cannes Film Festival is unarguably the perfect opportunity for fashion’s finest design talents to join forces with some of cinema’s most revered film stars. Whether it is on the red carpet, film premieres or daytime presentations, the industry’s greatest silver screen muses epitomise French style – an elegance unparalleled globally, some might argue. This year marked the 70th anniversary of the event – an opportune moment for French House Saint Laurent to specially reinvent the classics – and for shoulderpads to make a decisive comeback. With over 20 stars wearing the house’s designs, Saint Laurent brings us the (un)official hallmark of elegance when it comes to cinema.

The maison’s relationship with the industry goes back to the days of iconic French actress and muse Catherine Deneuve and Luis Buñuel’s 1967 classic Belle de Jour, when the designer created the complete wardrobe for the then 23-year-old actress. His designs, classic with a twist of fetish, elevated the film’s surrealist eroticism and helped create a cult style.

56 years later, the Kering-owned house continues to awe us with the immaculate designs of Vaccarello’s second official collection. From tuxedo jackets and tailored suits to more contemporary asymmetric velvet and sequined dresses, the croisette was glistening with Anthony Vacarello’s designs for Saint Laurent. The up and coming 33-year-old French actor Arnaud Valois, a frontrunner in Robin Campillo’s 120 Battements Par Minute, gave us the best of both worlds with a bomber jacket and canonical black suit combo, while French actress and host for this year’s edition of the festival Isabelle Huppert stole the show at the Women in Motion Awards Dinner in a peak-shouldered classic white dress and black belt ensemble.

Stars like Robin Wright, Charlotte Casiraghi, Josh Kaye, Antoine Reinartz, Yang Yang, Elodie Bouchez, and Celine Sallettealso took to the coastal city paying homage to the iconic pieces and silhouettes that build up the history of the Parisian house.

Highlights included the French model and actress Laetitia Casta arriving at the premiere for The Meyerowitz Stories wearing a long-sleeved velvet dress with a startling thigh-high skirt split. Icon of French independent cinema Beatrice Dalle appeared on the red carpet accompanied by Anthony Vacarello himself, while daughter of distinguished musician Serge Gainsbourg and fashion’s most enigmatic persona Jane Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, sported a variety of looks that reinforced her crowning as the face of the maison’s AW17 campaign. A match made in heaven.