Photo: Misan Harriman
Salma Hayek Pinault delivered one of her most memorable looks at Cannes in 1999, when she attended the film festival in a fuzzy cropped cardigan, a satin maxi skirt and a suite of shimmering jewels. “I made my own fashion style,” the star previously recalled in her Vogue Life In Looks video. “A lot of these looks, it was just my creativity… Trying to struggle with the fact that I didn’t have a lot of resources. I’m very proud that it was my imagination that made me create these looks.”
Salma getting ready for her red-carpet moment. Photo: Misan Harriman
For this year’s festival, she called upon creative director Sarah Burton and the atelier at Alexander McQueen to design a dress for her to wear to the premiere of Killers of the Flower Moon. Adapted from a nightshade poly faille gown (made from recycled yarns) that appeared in Burton’s autumn/winter 2023 collection, the chosen look features an “exploded” neckline and a puff ball skirt, both of which tap into the dramatic proportions Burton explored this season.
Salma on the red carpet at Cannes. Photo: Getty
“It was looking at anatomy, the anatomy of tailoring,” the designer explained backstage at the show. “Almost back to the beginnings of McQueen on Savile Row. It was a progression, which starts very kind of straight and structured. And then it begins to flash and twist and turn upside down. It’s like how you begin with a garment – you have to know that there’s a way to construct it, the bones of it, before you can dissect it and subvert it.”
The dress in the atelier. Photo: Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen autumn/winter 2023. Photo: INDIGITAL.TV
Salma was the perfect woman to wear the experimental design, which she complemented with Gucci diamonds and an up-do (the work of hairstylist Jennifer Yepez) that echoed the cascading ruffles of her dress. Make-up artist Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury, meanwhile, added further drama with smoky eyeshadow, a contoured complexion and a rosy lip.
The star has always held her own on the Croisette, and this year is no different.
Salma wearing a cropped cardigan and satin skirt at Cannes in 1999. Photo: Kevin.Mazur
Originally published in Vogue.co.uk
