Angelina Jolie made a fashion statement of mythic proportions Tuesdday when she swept down the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival in a billowing caftan-style goddess gown.
The heavily pregnant Jolie played against type: She didn’t show cleavage and didn’t show leg - yet she still managed to steal the limelight on what is one of the most competitive red carpets in the world.
Instead of showing off her curves, the 32-year-old showed how (in the words of designer Reem Acra, who custom-created last night’s dress) “covering up can be more chic.”
Ironically, Angelina debuted her demure look at a 61-year-old film fest best known for exposing the assets of starlets desperate to attain sexpot status.
In 1953, a little-known actress named Brigitte Bardot became a household name after she stunned onlookers by posing in a bikini for the paparazzi.
A year later, a nubile Simone Silva took it a step further, whipping off the top of her bikini during a press conference to the shock of the press and co-star Robert Mitchum, who sat - slack-jawed - by her side.
Ever since, actresses in search of the spotlight (industry-speak: Canne’d Heat) have let it all hang out in the South of France this time each year.
But this year, Angelina - along with trend-setting peers including Gwyneth Paltrow, Calista Flockhart and Salma Hayek - appear to be using the exposure they’re getting in Cannes to turn to a clean fashion page.
Blame Britney or Lindsay, but A-list celebrities are feeling the need to distance themselves from the attention-grabbing antics of Hollywood’s younger pack. Experts say we can expect to see Hollywood’s established actresses wearing more modest, less flashy red-carpet gowns.
“These are actresses who’ve already arrived,” says celebrity stylist Mary Alice Stephenson, noting the cool grownup brand of glamour also exhibited by Natalie Portman (in a ruffled purple frock) and Paltrow (who wore a simple, toga-style Lanvin dress) in Cannes this week. “These women have attention 2-4/7. They don’t need anymore.”
Jolie, Stephenson says, looked “fashion appropriate, elegant and above all comfortable” yesterday in her Hellenic-style caftan. “There’s an ease to the ‘goddess’ look that is very feminine and also very much a sexy party style,” says Stephenson, who as usual had a practical observation: “It’s really hot and sticky in Cannes, so it makes sense that stars are wearing loose-fitting dresses. They want to stay cool.” Especially, in Angelina’s case, when they’re dressing for three.
