“I had an amazing dress by Gupta that I cannot wear tonight” — Halle Berry compelled to switch outfits at the Cannes film festival due to new rules

Halle Berry attended the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 13, wearing a black and white halter-neck dress from the Jacquemus Spring/Summer 2025 collection. At the Cannes jury press conference, Halle Berry told Variety that she was initially going to wear a dress by designer Gaurav Gupta. However, she couldn't go with the outfit because of the new guidelines.

"I had an amazing dress by Gupta that I cannot wear tonight because it's too big of a train. I'm not going to break the rules. The nudity part is also probably a good rule," the actress said.

For the unversed, Cannes released a statement on May 12 and changed the dress code. The film festival prohibited nudity on the red carpet and voluminous outfits, stating that the big dresses obstruct the other guests' movement and seating arrangements.

"For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the Red Carpet, as well as in any other area of the Festival. Voluminous outfits, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater are not permitted," the statement reads.

Halle Berry returned to the Met Gala after a seven-year hiatus

​On May 5, Halle Berry attended the 2025 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, after seven years, as she made her debut at the event in 2017. On Monday, she wore a mesh and black sequinned LaQuan Smith gown, a cropped tuxedo jacket, and a net veil. According to the May 5 People report, Berry wore a Cartier necklace that took over 1,000 hours to make.

Designer LaQuan Smith told the media outlet that his interpretation of the theme, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, was creating a look inspired by the 1920s Harlem Renaissance. Smith said he was influenced by the African American actor and singer Joséphine Baker, and the tailoring and "exaggerated shoulder" of the 1980s.

"I've always been inspired by the essence of Harlem Renaissance and this jazzy era. For me, sharp tailoring and an exaggerated shoulder is what I've always been incorporating in my collections. I love the '80s as well, and the fearlessness of Josephine Baker, so I think that you're going to be able to get some of the essence of all of those notes through the design," Smith stated.

 

 

 

 

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Smith shared that Halle Berry's look was created with Samsung Galaxy AI Atelier. According to the designer, the AI Atelier sketched the Met Gala look and helped with the fittings and scheduling process. He called the feature a "great tool" that helped him explore his creativity.

"For me, it's always about pushing the boundaries with fashion and technology. The AI feature is such a great tool for me to explore futuristic concepts on a digital scale. It comes down to my silhouettes, my textures and how I can make my world a lot easier with fittings and scheduling. I'm really allowing myself to be forward-thinking," the designer said.

According to Variety's report, Halle Berry would join the film festival's jury with actor Jeremy Strong, All We Imagine as Light director Payal Kapadia, filmmaker Hong Sangsoo, Alba Rohrwacher, Leïla Slimani, Dieudo Hamadi, and Carlos Reygadas.