Good old-fashioned decency is expected to take center stage at the 78th Cannes Film Festival when the annual event kicks off on Tuesday evening.

In recent years, the star-studded affair has arguably attracted more attention for the glamorous outfits donned by its celebrity attendees than for the slate of feature films showcased on the Croisette.

However, new nudity guidelines, introduced for ‘the sake of decency,’ will be enforced when French director Amélie Bonnin’s film, Leave One Day, opens the festivities this week.

According to organisers, the austere move is an attempt to the stifle the celebrity trend for ‘naked dresses’ – namely provocative outfits that reveal considerably more than they conceal – on the red carpet.

‘For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as any other area of the festival,’ states a Cannes festival document.

‘The festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.’ 

The surprise new policy features in a recent festival-goers charter – released with a series of outlines regarding expected public behaviour. 

Guests are expected to converge on the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière for some of the highest profile film screenings across a packed seven day schedule in Cannes. 

It’s understood that the iconic venue now adopts a more conservative dress code, with suits, dinner jackets and floor-length evening gowns generally favoured over headline grabbing ensembles. 

Classic little black dresses, cocktail dresses, pant-suits, dressy tops and elegant sandals, ‘with or without a heel’, will also be permitted.  

While the decision to implement a more stringent policy will be a first, it is not known if French TV broadcasters, wary of airing nudity, played a role in its enforcement. 

Major red carpet events, including the Cannes Film Festival, are aired in France by France Télévisions

Recently attracting more models and influencers than actors and filmmakers, the annual ceremony has seen an increase in risque red carpet fashion statements. 

In 2021, American supermodel Bella Hadid bared her cleavage in a  plunging black gown while attending a screening of Tre Piani (Three Floors). 

She pulled a similar stunt three years later, with guests at the 2024 gala left speechless after she attended the premiere of Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice completely braless beneath a sheer brown evening dress. 

This year’s ceremony will begin in the wake of Trump´s vow to enact tariffs on international films.

Cannes, where filmmakers, sales agents and journalists gather from around the world, is the Olympics of the big screen, with its own golden prize, the Palme d´Or, to give out at the end. 

Filmmakers come from nearly every corner of the globe to showcase their films while dealmakers work through the night to sell finished films or packaged productions to various territories.

‘You release a film into that Colosseum-like situation,’ says Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, who´s returning to Cannes with ‘The Secret Agent, a thriller set during Brazil´s dictatorship. 

‘You´ve got to really prepare for the whole experience because it´s quite intense – not very far from the feeling of approaching a roller coaster as you go up the steps at the Palais.’

Trump sent shock waves through Hollywood and the international film community when he announced on May 4 that all movies “produced in Foreign Lands” will face 100% tariffs.

The White House has said no final decisions have been made. Options being explored include federal incentives for U.S.-based productions, rather than tariffs. But the announcement was a reminder of how international tensions can destabilize even the oldest cultural institutions.

The Cannes Film Festival originally emerged in the World War II years, when the rise of fascism in Italy led to the founding of an alternative to the then-government controlled Venice Film Festival. 

In the time since, Cannes´ resolute commitment to cinema has made it a beacon to filmmakers. Countless directors have come to make their name.

This year is no different, though some of the first-time filmmakers at Cannes are already particularly well-known. Stewart (The Chronology of Water), Scarlett Johansson (Eleanor the Great) and Harris Dickinson (Urchin) will all be unveiling their feature directorial debuts in Cannes´ Un Certain Regard sidebar section.

Many Cannes veterans will be back, too, including Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning), Robert De Niro – who´s to receive an honorary Palme d´Or 49 years after Taxi Driver premiered in Cannes – and Quentin Tarantino, to pay tribute to low-budget Western director George Sherman.