• Bella Hadid arrived at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival in a vintage Prada Sport spring 1999 set with metallic Puma Speedcat sneakers
• She wore a pale gray satin column gown with Chopard diamonds to the premiere of Garance, accompanied by brother Anwar Hadid
• Her off-duty wardrobe has been a deep dive into archival fashion, including rare Alaïa, Chantal Thomass, and vintage Prada pieces
• Bella also marked nine years at the festival with a nostalgic Instagram throwback, including a fiery red plunging gown with a sky-high slit
• She is attending as a Chopard ambassador and Prada Beauty’s first-ever global beauty ambassador

Nobody does Cannes quite like Bella Hadid. And nine years in, she’s still finding new ways to make the Croisette feel like her personal runway.

The 29-year-old supermodel and Ôrebella perfume founder touched down at Nice Airport on May 15 in what has already become one of the festival’s most-talked-about airport looks: a silver-blue sleeveless zip-up top and matching capri pants from Prada’s spring 1999 collection, accented with the brand’s signature red Sport label. She finished the look with a vintage black leather Prada tote stuffed with a thick binder and corded headphones, a gold watch, thin bangles, and a pair of metallic silver Puma Speedcat sneakers — a slim racing-shoe silhouette that was relaunched in 2024 and has since become a full-blown celebrity obsession. Her angular silver-framed sunglasses did the rest.

It’s the kind of outfit that looks effortless and is anything but. Stylist Mimi Cuttrell paired the nearly 30-year-old set with the Speedcats deliberately — the tomato-red Prada Sport trim echoing the sneakers’ black-and-silver detailing. As Prada Beauty’s first-ever global beauty ambassador, and fresh off modeling four looks in Miuccia Prada’s Fall 2026 show, Hadid has access to the archives that most people can only dream about. She also wore custom Prada to the Vanity Fair Oscar Party earlier this year, so clearly the relationship runs deep.

For anyone who wants in on the look: her exact Puma Speedcats retail for $100 and were briefly available on ASOS for $80. Don’t hold your breath on stock lasting.

A Vintage Wardrobe Built for the French Riviera

Once settled in, Hadid leaned fully into what Vogue aptly called a “fun and free-spirited” archival wardrobe — the kind of fashion deep-cut curation that has become her signature at this festival.

Spotted leaving the legendary Cap-Eden-Roc hotel in Antibes before boarding a private boat to the festival, she was wearing a pink gingham crop top and low-waisted co-ord set from Chantal Thomass spring 1988 — a sweet two-piece she paired with Chopard Happy Hearts bracelets, a Shay Pavé diamond pinky ring, retro white oval sunglasses, and pale pink pointy pumps sourced from The Vintage Marché. She was dancing on the jetty with a friend, smile wide, looking every bit like she’d been summering on the Riviera her entire life.

Later, departing the boat for lunch with her mother, Yolanda Hadid, she changed into a dusty rose Alaïa spring 2003 halter dress — a keyhole-neckline piece with a close-fit bodice that falls into a drop waist and a wispy, butterfly-wing hemline. The dress was sourced by Cuttrell from Paris-based vintage seller Emerieu, whose founder Mathilde Gaudier had a feeling it was destined for Bella specifically.

“We regularly source vintage Alaïa pieces because few designers understood the female form the way Azzedine Alaïa did,” Gaudier said. “When this spring 2003 dress came to us, we had a feeling Bella would be its perfect match — and it seems Bella’s styling team felt exactly the same way.” (Gaudier also revealed she’s bought the same dress in multiple colorways, including a sumptuous emerald green.) Hadid styled it with a vintage Prada cream crochet tote from The Vintage Marché, tortoiseshell sunglasses, and snakeskin Manolo Blahnik pumps from Shop Élléments.

On another outing, she stepped out from her hotel in white bell-bottom pants and a sheer white camisole edged in lace with a green and red floral print, a matching scarf knotted at her neck, oversized sunglasses, a green purse, and stacked gold bangles. She also made a point of stopping by a Chopard billboard she stars in — because of course she did.

The Red Carpet Moment Everyone Was Waiting For

On Saturday night, Hadid stepped onto the Palais des Festivals steps for the premiere of Jeanne Herry’s Garance, and she delivered exactly what the Croisette expects from her.

The gown: a strapless pale gray satin column dress, its ruched neckline covered in matching beads, the skirt trailing behind her in a sweeping fabric train. Over it, she wore a matching wrap that fell off her shoulders and cropped at the waist — elegant without being fussy. Her hair was swept into an updo, and she wore a white gold Chopard jewelry set featuring earrings and several diamond rings. White pointed-toe pumps completed the look. Brother Anwar Hadid was by her side for the screening.

It’s the kind of red carpet moment that photographs in slow motion in your head — understated in color, completely commanding in presence.

Nine Years and Counting

Shortly after arriving in Cannes, Hadid posted an Instagram throwback celebrating her history with the festival. “Nine years of my favorite week,” she captioned a slideshow of past looks — including a fiery red one-shoulder gown with ruched waist detailing, side cutouts, and an ultra-high slit that resurfaced as a reminder of just how long she’s been setting this festival’s fashion agenda.

The history is genuinely staggering. There have been Chanel fall 1986 ball gowns and the gilded Schiaparelli lung corset of 2021 — still one of the most-discussed red carpet looks of the decade. The barely-there Saint Laurent dress from last year, which arrived just hours after the festival announced a new dress code banning nudity and voluminous trains. (Hadid wore it anyway, with a slit up to there, and the internet lost its mind.) Jean Paul Gaultier corsets. Roberto Cavalli thigh slits. A vintage Gianni Versace mini on the Croisette. Licking ice cream in a Hushidar Mortezaie dress patchworked from keffiyeh fabric on the Plage du Midi.

As Vogue put it, she “occupies a more symbolic role in the cultural imagination of Cannes than the actors and filmmakers the festival ostensibly honors.” That might sound hyperbolic until you actually look at the archive — and then it just sounds accurate.

Between red carpet appearances, she’s also been spotted on a yacht near Cannes, diving off the boat in a tiny pink bikini while friends looked on. This is Bella Hadid’s Cannes, and the rest of us are just watching.

The 2026 festival has been a particularly fashion-forward edition, with Dua Lipa, Sandra Hüller, and a jury that includes Demi Moore and Ruth Negga all adding to the Croisette’s style energy. But with several more days still to go, the only real question is what Hadid pulls out next.

The post Bella Hadid Is Owning Cannes 2026 Look by Look appeared first on Cream.

• Cannes Film Festival banned nudity and overly voluminous gowns in 2025, but stars have kept pushing the dress code anyway
• Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Julia Fox and Cameron Diaz are among the celebrities behind the most daring looks in festival history
• Kelly Rutherford caused a stir at the 2026 festival with a look that quietly defied the nudity ban
• The 2026 jury includes Demi Moore, who arrived in a custom Jacquemus gown — rule-compliant, but stunning
• From 1988 to today, the Croisette has always been where fashion rules go to be broken

The Cannes Film Festival may have officially banned nudity in 2025, but the red carpet on the Croisette has never really cared about the rules. Decades before that decree, stars were showing up in gowns that left almost nothing to the imagination — and the looks have lived in our heads ever since.

The festival’s updated charter also prohibited voluminous gowns and trains that might “hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater.” That didn’t stop Heidi Klum from arriving at last year’s opening ceremony in a sweeping Elie Saab couture gown with a train that could fill a ballroom. Others followed her lead. And at the 2026 festival — which kicked off May 12 in the French Riviera and runs through May 23 — Kelly Rutherford arrived in a dress that was, as one outlet put it, “ever-so-subtly a naked dress,” and it caused quite a stir anyway.

The 79th Cannes Film Festival is stacked with star power this year. The jury is led by The Substance star Demi Moore alongside Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgård and director Chloé Zhao. Moore herself hit the carpet in a custom Jacquemus gown — a corset top, peplum waist, and fitted skirt, her signature brunette curls completing the look. Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and Miles Teller are all set to premiere the crime drama Paper Tigers on May 16, while Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve’s Fjord debuts May 19. Peter Jackson received an honorary Palme d’Or at the opening ceremony, presented by none other than Elijah Wood.

But even with all that going on, it’s the fashion — specifically the kind that makes you do a double take — that has always defined Cannes as much as the cinema. In honor of that legacy, here’s a look back at 15 of the most rule-breaking naked dresses ever to hit the famous staircase in front of the Palais des Festivals.

The Looks That Rewrote the Red Carpet

Bella Hadid has made the sheer gown practically her Cannes signature. Her most talked-about look came in 2024, when she stepped out in a nude halter dress straight off the Saint Laurent runway — entirely see-through, crafted from sheer, stretchy pantyhose material. It was the kind of dress that stops a crowd mid-sentence.

Kendall Jenner brought her own version of barely-there to the 2018 premiere of Girls of the Sun, choosing a white Schiaparelli Couture gown in completely sheer silk tulle, cinched at the waist with a bold statement belt. Clean, deliberate, unforgettable.

Julia Fox, never one to play it safe, arrived at the 2023 festival in a see-through top made of glass — yes, glass — paired with a voluminous skirt featuring a bubble layer on top and a long train underneath. Only Fox could make a glass shirt feel inevitable.

Leila Depina took the naked dress concept somewhere almost architectural at the 2023 premiere of Asteroid City. Her draped silver look appeared to be constructed entirely of tiny glittering chains, which left, unsurprisingly, very little to the imagination.

Hari Nef went for something more understated in 2023, courtesy of Fendi Couture: a sheer shawl on top, an ivory maxi skirt below. Simple, elegant, and still completely sheer.

Milla Jovovich‘s 1997 look for the premiere of The Fifth Element deserves a place in the fashion history books. Designed by John Galliano, the strategically beaded dress was so iconic that Miley Cyrus wore an updated version of it to the 2024 Grammys — proof that the best red carpet moments never really expire.

Then there’s La Cicciolina. In 1988, Ilona Staller — the singer and Italian politician — arrived at Cannes and bared her breasts, belly, and thighs, accessorizing the look with a pink stuffed animal. It remains, arguably, the most naked dress in the festival’s entire history. No contest.

Heidi Klum showed up in 2023 in a bright yellow gown with a thigh-high slit, midriff cutouts, and two enormous bat-wing sleeves that would absolutely fall under today’s “overly voluminous” ban. She’s since doubled down on the drama.

Cameron Diaz made headlines at the 2002 premiere of Gangs of New York in a shimmering black gown that was completely sheer — her black underwear fully visible — with a thigh-high slit and an asymmetrical one-shoulder neckline. It was 2002, and it still holds up.

Nadia Lee Cohen went full sheer in 2024 with a black long-sleeve Saint Laurent dress, a pair of underwear, and dark sunglasses. Minimal accessories, maximum impact.

Winnie Harlow wore a Ralph & Russo gown at the 2019 festival that was completely sheer except for green metallic beading at the front and back. The America’s Next Top Model alum looked like she’d stepped out of a dream sequence.

Didi Stone turned heads at the 2022 opening ceremony in a Roberto Cavalli look that paired a lilac silk skirt with a gold grid of roses placed strategically over her torso — gladiator-inspired and genuinely stunning.

Cindy Kimberly made it personal in 2023, wearing a shimmering halter-neck gown from her own brand, Loba. The sheer metallic look featured a completely open back and a short train. “Cannes wearing my own designs is such a dream come true,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories at the time.

At the 2025 festival, Stella Maxwell found a way to work the sheer look within the new rules — a sheer lace gown with strategically placed ruffles offering just enough coverage to technically pass. And Pritika Swarup, the model and beauty brand founder, closed out the 2025 closing ceremonies in a sheer, jewel-encrusted gown with long black opera gloves that gave the whole look an extra shot of drama.

The ban is real. The enforcement, apparently, is another matter entirely. As long as there’s a red carpet on the Croisette, someone is going to show up in something that makes everyone stop scrolling — and honestly, that’s exactly what makes Cannes, Cannes.

The post Cannes’ Boldest Naked Dresses of All Time appeared first on Cream.