Pierre Mouton

Carla Bruni's Cannes Film Festival Photo Diary

The former First Lady of France opens up to ELLE UK about her Cannes Film Festival packing essentials, the power of women in film, and dressing for the light.

By Katie O'MalleyUpdated: 23 May 2024

As one of the biggest moments in the satirical and film industry calendar, it’s no wonder that France pulled out all the stops when it came to its guestlist of red carpet attendees for the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

From Charlotte Gainsborough and Isabelle Huppert to Eva Green and Juliette Binoche, in the last two weeks the Festival has been set alight with French award winning actors, as well as Gallic fashion royalty, including Italian-born and French naturalised singer and supermodel, Carla Bruni.

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A longtime guest of the Cannes Film Festival for almost three decades, the former First Lady of France famously wore a beaded lilac Celine gown to the festival in 2022, almost 25 years since she graced the carpet in a brown jersey dress from the brand in 1998. For one of her appearances at this year's festival, Bruni and her stylist Clement Lomellini agreed on an ivory-hued custom Celine column dress, which featured a thigh-high split at the side and an embellished halterneck.

‘The Cannes Film Festival is very special to me,’ Bruni tells ELLE UK about her fond memories of the Festival. ‘It’s the first festival I received an invitation too, by the jewellery house Chopard. It’s an interesting festival because it has a very interesting list of movies, which are chosen very carefully from all over the world.’

When asked whether the film industry is changing for the better for women, she notes: 'It's about time women have winning moments in the industry of film and about that #MeToo finally reached the French film system... I was very happy to see Meryl Streep, Demi Moore and Greta Gerwig being honoured. I'm so proud when women are honoured.'

Here, Bruni shares her diary from the 77th Cannes Film Festival:

Pierre Mouton

'When I think about what I’m going to wear for the Cannes Film Festival, I work alongside my stylist, Clement Lomellini.
, to look for dazzling dresses. I'm kind of classical, so I never go too eccentric or too far [with my look], but I do like a little boldness for the red carpet.

'When I'm packing for the Cannes Film Festival, I'm not packing all of these beautiful dresses I borrow, rather I'm packing comfy clothes that I hang out in the hotel, like Birkenstocks, jeans, T-shirts and books to read when I'm getting ready. Cannes is a real fun, hard-working yet creative time.'

Pierre Mouton

'My stylist Clement and I always like to dress thinking of the light we might have. And Cannes is in the South of France, the light has a golden quality which the North doesn't have. As a result, we can go for colouring. To get ready for the red carpet, I start around one-hour-and-a-half hours before hand, so I have all the time I need.'

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Pierre Mouton

'My favourite memory of Cannes was at the end of the Nineties. I was in Cannes to watch one a film my sister Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's was in by Marco Bellocchio. Valeria and I were meant to share the same room, but it ended up being nine of us packed into one room. It was quite good fun!'

Pierre Mouton

'The Cannes Film Festival still holds an importance in the film calendar because it's very intentional, as is the jury. The choice of the films are always very open. We get to see European, British, American films but also African, Asian, Japanese, Chinese etc films. It's a very rich choice of film, and that's its secret.'

Katie O'Malley

Site Director

Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.

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