The Cannes Vibe Has Changed! Reveal Your Calves Now
When the Cannes Film Festival announced last year (2025) that it would ban excessive exposure on the red carpet, everyone raised an eyebrow. People wondered what Bella Hadid would be able to wear on such a strict red carpet — the very Bella Hadid who upended Cannes with dangerously high-slit dresses ripped to the hip and bold see-through Saint Laurent gowns.
Of course, if it’s for the sake of ‘best-dressed’ clicks, it’s kind of fun to bend the dress code a little. (Thanks already to Kristen Stewart for breaking the rules by pairing a see-through Chanel two-piece with sneakers!) But this year on the Cannes red carpet, the most dizzying and alluring area doesn’t seem to be the chest or the derrière — it’s the calf.
Demi Moore paired a peplum jacket with Magda Butrym’s pedal-pusher pants, and Leïla Bekhti revealed her calves in capri pants and Alaïa shoes. In the UK, Claudia Winkleman took the BAFTA stage in black capri pants.
It’s not entirely surprising that capri pants have appeared on a red carpet where glamour and resort vibes coexist, like at Cannes. Capris aren’t simply an item to be dismissed as ‘comfortable three-quarter pants.’ For a long time they’ve symbolized both the ease of resort wear and the elegance of old Hollywood. They were first created by designer Sonja de Lennart in the late 1940s after she walked along the beaches of Capri. Afterwards, Audrey Hepburn wore them in Sabrina and Roman Holiday, and Marilyn Monroe also enjoyed wearing them. In short, they’re the epitome of elegant resort style.
That said, capri pants are fairly delicate when it comes to styling. The moment you pair them with a shoe that has a clumsy silhouette, the whole look can immediately feel awkward. Since they expose the calf, the footwear needs to be light and sleek. Heels, slim pumps, or mules that show the instep are the safest choices. For the top, rather than something overly loose, a piece that fits the body to some extent creates much more tension.
The red carpet, which had become boring from all the same dresses, were we even competing in exposure for nothing? Now a fresh ‘killing point’ — the calves — has been added. This summer, if you want to enjoy a new silhouette and elegant tension, try capri pants.
Published: May 19, 2026
