FASHION Magazine

See our Cannes red carpet top 10 »

Beyond the foamy curtain of the Côte d’Azur lays the scene of cinema’s annual cult gathering—Cannes, a festival like no other. It is an event that has captivated audiences for the past 67 years with its unique and intoxicating brand of Mediterranean glamour.

Besotted by champagne soaked parties, historic hotels, and delectable French fare, it is a veritable paradise of indulgences for the beautiful, rich, and famous (which is at least what reading Assouline books on the topic will lead you to believe). The level of exclusivity on the Cannes red carpet guarantees that only a negligible percentage of the population will ever be granted access beyond its velvet ropes, which of course only adds to its prestigious reputation.

As the buzz surrounding tonight’s Met Gala reaches a fever pitch, many websites have done a good job of reflecting on the event’s storied past—the dresses, the glamour, the history-making moments! And while dishing on the red carpet has become a full on spectator sport, what happens beyond the velvet rope is something many of us plebes will really never experience. In the context of high society’s glittering history, the Met Gala is just one of many cool parties the crème de le crème mingle at. In 2011, Assouline published a retrospective on the greatest balls of the last century (the book has been on my must-own list since) and here we count down five that have made us green with past life regression envy.

Look back at Jean Luc-Godard’s style setting moments »

It’s no secret that the French have an enviable way with style. Effortless chic is basically in their DNA (think #iwokeuplikethis, circa always), and nowhere is this better demonstrated than in the 1960s films of Jean-Luc Godard. The French-Swiss filmmaker best known for pioneering the French New Wave changed the way films were made by taking a Brechtian approach to storytelling, alienating and distancing the spectators from his often unlikable characters. “A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order,” he famously said.

Beyond influencing award-winning filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Godard’s ultra-stylized movies have had a huge impact on the fashion world, inspiring the collections of everyone from Anna Sui to Rodarte and Band of Outsiders. In fact, Godard’s muse and wife of four years was Danish model Anna Karina (so named by none other than Coco Chanel) who embodied ’60s style on the cover of Elle and in high-profile ads for Palmolive. Brigitte Bardot’s voluminous bedroom hair in Contempt and Jean Seberg’s pixie cut in Breathless are regular runway references that make it easy to spot how Kate Upton and Jennifer Lawrence found their signature ’dos.

Hearkening back to St. Tropez’s heyday, when pretty young French things would frolic on the white sand to the tunes of yé-yé stars, Dior Addict’s latest short film And Dior Created Woman pulls direct inspiration from Brigitte Bardot’s star-making film And God Created Woman.

View the backstage beauty photo gallery »
View the runway photo gallery »

The beauty at Pink Tartan was certainly ‘60s and sultry—we’re talking double-lined eyes, thick eyebrows, and “lots and lots and lots and lots” of mascara. Is it hard to guess that the inspiration was Brigitte Bardot? Eddie Malter, official makeup artist of L’Oreal Paris, applied La Couleur Infallible eye shadow in “Flashback Silver” inside the crease of the eye and then used a brush to smudge the shimmery shade down. Lineur Intense eyeliner was applied thick, and almost straight across on both the eyelid and under the eye, creating the perfect winged look.

Oh Canada! Today was a day of amazing Canadian talent on the New York scene with Kimberley Newport-Mimran showing a Brigitte Bardot on the Riviera–inspired collection filled with a mix of jumbo and petite polka-dot pieces, drop-waist, ruffled tank dresses, and bright hits of tangerine. The room stayed at capacity for most of the presentation, forcing nightclub bouncer-like behavior from the security, counting guests in as the same numbers left the space. And across town, Kaelen Farncombe from Oakville, Ontario, showed a relaxed collection of pale blue, blush, and nude crinkled cottons, crepe de Chine, and macramé knits that all looked too cozy to leave the house but too fabulous not to. Ink blot prints, designed in collaboration with another Canadian, Sarah Dobson, on maxi dresses and short suits were a standout.

Does Janie Bryant ever sleep? The Mad Men costume designer, who has also created clothing line for sale on QVC, a nail polish range and vlogs for Banana Republic, has now teamed up with the 88-year-old brassiere brand Maidenform to work on a viral marketing campaign. Will be as successful as the legendary “I dreamed I…” campaign from the 50s and 60s? Only YouTube will tell… [Fashionista]

T’was tweeted: “thanks vanity fair for NOT crediting me in the story….VANITY UN-FAIR …..agrhhh!!!!” Argh indeed, according to stylist Nicola Formichetti, the man behind the much-buzzed gray-haired Lady Gaga Vanity Fair shoot, the mag didn’t credit him for his work. And off to Twitter it went. [@formichetti via Racked]