Emma Stone, fresh off of her Oscar-winning campaign for Poor Things and a Ryan Gosling-induced, décolleté-ripping fashion moment, is back to promote Yorgos Lanthimos’s most recent surrealist film, Kinds of Kindness. The pastel-ruffled whimsies that paid homage to Bella Baxter, the gloriously crazy character that won the performer her second Academy Award, have given way to a quite different feel on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet. Stone’s recent appearance on the Riviera is seductive without being too sentimental.70s, as opposed to nearby period costumes; and motivated by the effortless beauty of French style, rather than fashion drama akin to Frankenstein.
“This look is so effortless, fresh, and modern,” remarks Petra Flannery, Stone’s longtime stylist. of the burgundy sequined gown, which was created by Nicolas Ghesquière of Louis Vuitton, the brand that Stone represents, and had a deep V-neckline, sheer tulle back panels, and a slightly ruffled train. “I adored the concept of this rich brown-red hue contrasted with the blue lake and sky. Emma’s fair complexion and red hair made us certain it would stand out at Cannes.” Certainly helpful were the 800,000 patties, which required 1,700 hours to perfect.
The dark rouge color scheme wasn’t created overnight; rather, it has origins in Lanthimos’s most recent film, in which Stone portrays three antagonists in three interrelated stories that contrast with one another. Kinds of Kindness is the complete antithesis of Poor Things’s dreamlike, sherbet-colored landscape—Petra believes that it’s “streamlined and crisp.” When Flannery thought about Stone’s simple marketing looks, she couldn’t help but think of Lauren Hutton as her ideal woman—she was more effortless than frou-frou.
Well-known for her timeless approach to dressing—”Style is what you choose for yourself, and fashion is what you’re offered four times a year,” Hutton, an 80-year-old model and actor, continues to be admired for her simple yet flawlessly stylish clothing selections. It’s comforting to have a modest icon in the back of your mind as the Cannes Film Festival resembles the Met Gala more and more, with celebrities and media figures showcasing their interpretations of megawatt glitz.
