Why Incorporating Black in Your Designs is More Relevant Than Ever

As the Cannes Film Festival kicked off on May 12, the film industry’s brightest stars have gathered, as they do every year, in this picturesque French Riviera town. The festival often brings a refreshing air of optimism, unlike its counterparts in the colder climate of Berlin or at Venice’s Lido, which marks the end of summer. This year, however, the global atmosphere is less serene, with geopolitical tensions casting a shadow over the event. From the Middle East to Eastern Europe, conflicts loom, reminding festival-goers of the turbulent world beyond the glamour of the Croisette.

Amidst this backdrop of international unrest, the question arises: how should attendees dress for such a moment? As the festival’s red carpets unfurl, a more subdued, perhaps even austere, fashion choice seems appropriate. Black, the timeless staple of elegance, has become the predominant color, embodying both glamour and restraint. Maura Higgins, a familiar face on British, Irish, and American television, exemplifies this understated elegance, perfectly capturing the festival’s sartorial mood.

Meanwhile, Dame Joan Collins, Britain’s reigning queen of style, dazzled the press at Cannes with her impeccable fashion sense. Clad in classic Hollywood white and complemented by striking black opera gloves reminiscent of Cruella DeVille, she commanded the attention of photographers with her sophisticated ensemble. Her look is not only chic but also thought-provoking, perhaps a symbolic nod to the current global climate.

In a whimsical turn, one might consider Dame Joan as a diplomatic envoy, her outfit equally suited for high-stakes negotiations. Whether it’s a future Prime Minister like Sir Keir Starmer or another contender for 10 Downing Street, reaching out to Dame Joan for a potential diplomatic mission to Moscow could be a shrewd move. Her commanding presence and icy elegance might just give her an edge in discussions with figures like Vladimir Putin, potentially easing tensions in the volatile region.

At the festival’s opening ceremony, Dame Joan once again stole the spotlight, her ensemble a perfect blend of classic and contemporary. Her presence on the red carpet was a reminder of the power of fashion to convey messages beyond mere style. Perhaps, in the face of global uncertainty, her poised demeanor and striking attire could serve as a metaphorical olive branch, inviting dialogue and understanding.

Pictured above at the opening ceremony’s red carpet, Britain’s official grandest of grand dames, Dame Joan Collins, nails it for the voracious gaggle of Cannes paparazzi in Hollywood white, with some rather splendid Cruella DeVille elbow length opera gloves in, you guessed it, combat-ready black. Dead perfect gear, because it makes you think.

Perhaps we could send Dame Joan, dressed exactly like this, dripping with exactly these long tons of ice in a necklace set, to negotiate with Putin about that big intra-Slav game he’s got going to restore the Romanov empire? He just wouldn’t know what to do with the fearsome Dame Joan, and might give a little, is the point. Memo to Sir Kier Starmer, or whichever of his many in-house opponents wins the current ferocious fight for the seat at 10 Downing Street, any one of them would be well advised to ring up Dame Joan’s people to see if she could find the time for a quick trip to Moscow or St. Pete. Whatever she talked about with the Russian strongman would only help.

Who needs a tie when you have a shawl collar like that and a dead-black heavy-drop-point-collared shirt like Alton Mason? Pictured above, the actor/dancer/model shows how it’s done at the festival’s May 12 screening of Pierre Salvadori’s La Vénus Electrique, after which the honorary Palm d’Or for achievement in cinema was presented to none other than the J.R.R. Tolkien-cycle auteur Peter Jackson.

Above, Jane Fonda, 88, who is no slouch at doing a black sheath, did the ultimate black sheath, of course. Sequins, just a hint of a train kept in check, but plenty of her trademark lithe dancer’s movement she has. Are you old enough to remember her “workout tapes” back when there were actual videotapes? See, there was an actual machine that played back tapes, and you had to hook that up to your TV…..never mind. Point is, she’s kept at that whole limbering/slimming project, which is saying something for the octagenarian set.

Winning the opening night award for jaunty male, director Jacques Audiard performs an excellently balletic foundational placement — the beginnings of a properly turned-out position three — to enable his gracious salute by removing his straw topper with just a hint of a wisp of a bow to the crowd. In short, not just elegant, although it is also that. Having written thirty and directed seventeen films, including 2024’s Emilia Perez, on this red carpet, in his industry’s metier and firmly rooted his own terroir, Audiard is giving an understated masterclass in why the French are sometimes more gracious and graceful at public moments than many other denizens of the orb.

Yes, it’s Cannes, yes, it’s spring, and actress Frederique Bel — who has been directed by a who’s-who of French film and television directors in some 70-plus productions over the course of the last quarter century, three of which were directed by Luc Besson — has received the memo that some skin is required to establish that it is a human in there. But she’s also clearly marching out armed to the teeth with gravitas in the tight, barely-there black dress. Geometrically cosmic as the design is, left unclear is how the lower ring-of-Saturn at the hips actually allows Madame Bel to settle into those somewhat skinny seats at the May 12 opening ceremony. Does it fold up neatly or spill out over the armrests on her neighbors?

We’re not entirely sure that the Fast/Furious series is can actually be called “film” any more — although the projects do require much care, and players, and lots and lots of really cool cars that sometimes get raced or blown up with great creativity and daring by Hollywood’s very best stunt people. Narratively, the Fast/Furious products aren’t really a “cycle,” either, although some of the players re-occur from vehicle to vehicle, pun intended.

For now, let’s just say that any Fast/Furious thing is a thing that gets somewhat mysteriously renewed year-to-year, depending on the calendar, and then the players have to show up and re-introduce themselves, as here in Cannes on May 13, when the latest Fast/Furious thing dropped, right?

From left, stalwart Fast/Furious gun molls Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, who know their way around all sorts of fancy cars, not to mention firearms, breezily support central good/bad dude Vin Diesel, who’s doing his best professional bowling imitation for the paparazzi. It’s impossible to know why Vin Diesel chose a professional bowler to imitate, but no matter, sometimes people just need to throw a funny shape on a red carpet.