Bella Hadid’s Way Around the New Cannes Dress Code? Cut-Outs

Bella Hadid’s way around the new Cannes Film Festival dress code? Cut-outs.

After arriving to the French resort town with freshly dyed blonde hair yesterday, Hadid stepped out to the festival’s opening ceremony this evening in a chic dress that was almost slit entirely up one side.

Hadid slipped into a custom black dress from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello for the occasion. While the silk satin number seemed rather tame at first glance (at least, by Hadid’s Cannes standards), it actually featured some pretty risqué details. One side of the dress was slit up to Hadid’s thigh, the perfect way to show off her rhinestone Saint Laurent sandals, and flowed into an open back with a criss-cross design. The simple structure of Hadid’s slip dress not only paired well with her new honey blonde hair, but also looked quite nice with her selection of Chopard jewelry. The model wore jaw-dropping emerald and diamond earrings and a selection of cocktail rings from the French jeweler.

Cannes officially kicked off today, but the festival’s supposed ban of nudity and “voluminous” looks has already dominated the fashion discussion. Hadid, for her part, has worn many naked looks to Cannes over the years, including her fully-sheer Saint Laurent dress and the semi-sheer Versace number she slipped on in 2024. And who could forget the Schiaparelli breastplate Hadid donned in 2021?

Judging by the looks worn by guests attending the opening ceremony, the newly instated dress code might be treated as a suggestion. While there weren’t many completely nude looks like the ones Hadid wore last year, there were plenty of very long trains and hints of lace fabrics, too. As has become tradition for Hadid since her debut at Cannes over a decade ago, she’ll be out and about on the red carpet over the next two weeks. Time will tell if she takes the ban on nudity seriously or decides to do her own thing. For fashion’s sake, hopefully the latter.

Still, dress code or not, that didn’t stop Hadid from bringing her signature glamour to the South of France tonight.