Fresh from her Poor Things campaign, which ended in an Oscar and a Ryan Gosling-induced, bodice-ripping fashion moment, Emma Stone is back promoting Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest surrealist project, Kinds of Kindness. The Cannes Film Festival red carpet has prompted a distinct vibe shift from the pastel, ruffled whimsies that paid homage to Bella Baxter, the brilliantly bonkers character that scored the actor her second Academy Award. This new-look Stone on the Riviera is sexy, and not at all cutesy; a touch ’70s, rather than period costume adjacent; and inspired by the easy glamour of French style, as opposed to Frankenstein-like fashion drama.
“There’s something so modern, fresh and effortless about this look,” says Stone’s longtime stylist, Petra Flannery, of the burgundy sequined gown featuring a deep V-neckline, sheer tulle back panels and a slight ruffled train, designed–of course–by Nicolas Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton, for whom Stone is ambassador. “I loved the idea of this deep brown-red color set against the blue sky and water. With Emma’s red hair and pale skin, we knew it would pop at Cannes.” The 800,000 paillettes, which took a total of 1,700 hours to perfect, certainly helped.
The dark rouge palette was not just plucked from thin air, but has roots in Lanthimos’s new current-day movie, in which Stone plays three juxtaposing protagonists in a trio of interconnected fables. The polar opposite of Poor Things’s sherbet-colored dreamscape, Kinds of Kindness (no spoilers!) feels, says Petra, “streamlined and crisp”. More effortless than frou-frou, Flannery found she had one woman in mind when musing on Stone’s no-frills promo looks: Lauren Hutton.
Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Getty Images