With photographers positioned at all angles, the Cannes Film Festival red carpet is known among celebrities as the most unforgiving photo call in the world. A missed red carpet look can translate to a PR disaster, while a red carpet win can go on to be seen in newspapers and magazines around the world. Arriving in the South of France ahead of the Cannes Film Festival Closing Ceremonies, Style.com/Arabia stepped inside the sunlit Elie Saab suite, located in the iconic Hotel Martinez, to further understand the process behind wearing a creation by the man who has come to be known as a “King of the Red Carpet,” —Elie Saab.
Caterina Minthe: Entering this custom suite, I’m quite surprised to see just how many Elie Saab pieces are available for loan. In fact, there are several collections here, not just haute couture.
Emilie Legendre, Elie Saab Group Communications Manager: Indeed! We brought roughly 400 pieces with us, from accessories, to haute couture, to ready-to-wear. One of the first questions I ask an actress is what role will she be playing here at Cannes? Will she walk the red carpet? Is she an actress attending a premiere in which she plays a lead role, or is she accompanying someone else who is featured? Does she need a dress for a party or a photo call? There are many different scenarios and the actress must be dressed accordingly.
Can anyone request to be dressed in Elie Saab at Cannes, be it in haute couture, or ready-to-wear?
First of all, we never solicit an actress. Mr. Saab wants to be sure that there is a desire that stems from the actress to wear one of his dresses. Following this, admittedly not all requests are accepted. The celebrity must fit the image of the brand.
After a request is confirmed, then what happens?
The process generally begins two months ahead of the Festival’s film selection, because once the official selection is made, the requests snowball. I will have a conversation with the stylist to see what the actress likes, what her first options are, and then we choose one and begin the fittings, which might take place in Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, etc.
Can an actress have access to any dress from the archives?
If she is to don a ready-to-wear dress, then it will always come from the most recent collection—but if she will wear haute couture—and only select actresses can access the couture pieces—then the only condition is that the dress must never have been worn before.
After a decade working for Elie Saab and dressing celebrities for the red carpet, do you have a highlight?
An emotional moment was dressing the French actress Bérénice Béjo—we have known her for almost ten years now. Last year she called us at 2 pm ahead of a 5 pm red carpet photo call and said, “I’m at the airport. I’m coming back. Can you meet me in my hotel room?”
When someone calls you back for a movie, you don’t know who will win—an actor, a director, a producer. You know that your movie will get a prize, but you don’t know which one. Last year, everyone thought that the Best Actress award would go to an actress from the movie Blue is the Warmest Color, so Bérénice was very relaxed ahead of the closing ceremonies. Then, during the awards, suddenly her name was called for Best Actress! I became so emotional—to the point that the people around me thought that I had won. I was so happy for her and yes, she was wearing our dress, but above all of that, it was the fact that this was an innocent and wonderful moment and to be a part of that was fantastic. This is the reason why we do what we do. It’s not just about dressing the actresses—it’s sharing the magic of Cannes.
Click through the gallery above to see the images of actresses and celebrities wearing Elie Saab at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Interview by Caterina Minthe
