Sequins, ruffles and 3D polka dots: The best looks from the Cannes Film Festival so far

By Leah Dolan, CNN

(CNN) — Questions around what to expect at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival have so far largely focused on two things: The Hollywood-shaped hole in the official selection and “The White Lotus.”

This year, the storied celebration of film held on the French Riviera will look a little less “Mission: Impossible,” which premiered on the Croisette in 2025, and a little more international as European and Asian directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Nicholas Winding Refn and Ryusuke Hamaguchi take center stage. Out of 22 films in competition to win the Palme d’Or, just two are from US auteurs — Ira Sach’s “The Man I Love,” starring Remi Malek, and James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” with Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and Miles Teller.

But the opening night of the festival proved that the red carpet will not have that same Hollywood-shaped hole. The fashion is already as glittering as ever, with jury member Demi Moore, along with fellow actors Jane Fonda and Maika Monroe all arriving for opening night dripping in sequins.

Running parallel to the festival’s activities is the filming of season four of “The White Lotus,” TV writer and actor Mike White’s HBO show satirizing the lives of the uber rich — which this time is set at Cannes Film Festival. Though how close the cast will get to the historic red carpet, remains to be seen.

Below are the most distinct looks, as they happen, across the 12-day event.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.