The top trend on the red carpet in Cannes? Leave your steamer at home

After dozens of red carpet premieres, exclusive after-parties and posh galas, one question remains at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival: Will we suddenly suffer from a shortage of steamships in the picturesque beach town?

Over the course of the past two weeks, the festival has seen a handful of notable trends, from the celebrity-favorite nude dresses to angelic white wedding gowns. But one trend in particular, the whimsical crinkle dress, stood out from the crowd. Whether posing for photocalls or on the red carpet, the stars seemed to be on a mission to prove that it's no big deal at all if your dress looks like it was fished out of a crumpled dress sleeve.

But, stylists, don't be mad: yes, these dresses are designed that way on purpose. And most of the time they created quite interesting silhouettes. Diane Kruger was the first to start her experiments in Cannes. The Shrouds Photocall in a powder gray dress from the Jason Wu Collection. The German actress followed this moment just a few days later at the amfAR gala, where she wore a lemon green Prada look made from the perfectly crumpled fabric.

Of course, the guests in Cannes pampered the structured textiles with a good portion of metallic shine. Types of kindness Star Emma Stone dazzled in a custom Louis Vuitton gown during the premiere of her latest film. While the plunging neckline of her dress seemed to take center stage here, the sequined ruffles of her skirt continued the festival's penchant for unexpected, chunky finishes.

Supermodel Sasha Pivovarova followed Stone's example in a crinkled Prada disco ball gown of her own, and to a much lesser extent, so did Cate Blanchett. The latter's red carpet dress, also custom-made by Louis Vuitton, wasn't entirely crinkled but was made special by some ruffle draping.

The crumpling phenomenon is nothing new on the red carpet. At this year's Met Gala, Michelle Yeoh wore a Balenciaga dress made of aluminum foil. Speaking of Balenciaga: Greta Gerwig wore a similarly crumpled dress – in Barbie Pink, of course – from the brand’s Fall 2022 Couture collection during the L'Amour Ouf Red carpet.

So isn't “crinkly fabric” just a fancy name for a type of pleated fabric? Well, yes and no. There were plenty of pleated dresses this year, notable examples being Uma Thurman (who wore a Grecian dress to a Kering event) and Lily Gladstone (whose Markarian look was accentuated by a crinkled puff skirt). But while pleats remained commonplace throughout the festival, there were also plenty of new experiments with crinkle.

Perhaps the most important lesson we learned from the red carpet at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival is that leaving the steamer at home shouldn't be a cause for concern.