Cannes Film Festival Says ‘No’ to Naked Dresses
Naked dress no more! Nudity will not be allowed at this year’s Cannes Film Festival “for decency reasons,” new event rules say. Violators will not be allowed to walk the red carpet.
The restrictions must come as quite a shock to attendees, many of whom have donned risqué outfits for festivals past. But reporting from the Daily Mail suggests the festival team are no fans of the nudity plaguing red carpets in 2025.
“According to organizers, the austere move is an attempt to stifle the celebrity trend for ‘naked dresses’ … on the red carpet,” the outlet writes.
You remember the naked dress? Believe me, you’ll know it when you see it.
It’s clothing designed to emphasize nudity, rather than cover it. A growing trend amongst female celebrities, The Hollywood Reporter once described naked dressing as, “The style aesthetic of ‘How naked can I look?’”
I’ve been covering the proliferation of naked dresses as a manifestation of a deeper problem — the widespread belief that public nudity empowers women.
It doesn’t.
The sinful distortion of male and female relationships makes nudity outside the protective, intimate bonds of marriage dangerous. Public nudity is frequently used to objectify, shame and subjugate women — both historically and today.
I’d like to think the Cannes Film Festival’s recommitment to “decency” reflects an acknowledgement that humans’ desire for modesty is protective, not stifling. But I think it more likely organizers simply want to keep media attention on the films, rather than naked guests.
Most news outlets agree that naked dressing is a publicity stunt. The Mail calls the dresses “headline grabbing ensembles.” The Reporter writes point-blank:
This year, press coverage of events like the Grammys and Oscars have been swamped with gawping reactions to attendees’ lack of clothing. While the women involved get a boost of attention, the events themselves get lost in the noise.
Self-objectification is arguably the saddest part of the naked dressing phenomenon. Though women have more social and legal freedoms than ever before, an endless parade of celebrities and influencers regularly bare themselves for profit and attention.
In doing so, they effectively reduce themselves from an image-bearer of God to a mere physical body —an object for public consumption.
Some of these women believe public nudity is empowering, so long as they choose to be nude. This is a lie. In our sinful world, public nudity is inherently dangerous and objectifying; that doesn’t change if a woman chooses to inflict that damage upon herself.
Regardless of its motives, Cannes Film Festival’s decision to ban public nudity protects women, at least for a little while.
It’s also a refreshing change from the “affirming” narrative parroted at other gatherings. Showing up naked isn’t empowering or feminine, it’s just sad.
Perhaps celebrity events are finally starting to agree.
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