Greta Gerwig Margiela’s Cannes Dress: Reality or Performance in Fashion?

It all started on X (formerly Twitter). Actress and director Greta Gerwig attended the opening of the 77th International Cannes Film Festival in a blue and white striped Maison Margiela Spring/Summer 2024 sundress. The collection, highly praised for its theatricality, drama, intensified styling, beauty trends, and eeriness, was applauded by fashion lovers and professionals alike for rescuing everything one craves on the runway — performance.

Gerwig's look last week on the French Riviera, however, was met with mixed reviews. While some questioned the absence of drama, others enjoyed seeing the look outside of the runway context, recognizing her ability to adapt the visual to a non-performative daytime situation.

For those who call for drama, know that you are heard. In the contemporary world, where trends move at a high speed, there is already little to see at fashion catwalks — few designers do anything grand and dramatic — so in a way, the red carpets become a different kind of show. But must everything appear as dramatic in real life as it does on a few runways? 

At times, things can get confused. Performance and storytelling should be as present in a fashion show as they are in a film screened at the Cannes Film Festival. But it doesn't have to be in every aspect of someone's life — even if that someone is a public figure. Indeed, everyone has the right to embrace performance through their looks - Zendaya, for instance, has been doing so since the 2010s. However, that doesn't mean that everyone should. Challengers' star does so because it is part of herself.

Once, someone said that not every celebrity should be a fashion icon. And I couldn't agree more. Not everybody has that innovative fashion flair, and that's fine. No need to force anything. Otherwise, the person doesn't wear the clothes, but the clothes wear the person.

This relates to the relationship between the garment and the one wearing it and to how comfortable one feels with it. Whether it's for a celebrity or an anonymous person, there's something that every outfit should have —relatability. The relation between the wearer and the garment is, in fact, the key element of the power of image. Barbie's director appeared to be comfortable in the look, which reflects not only her personal style but also her relation with it.

FASHIONISMO writer Thereza Chammas made a really relevant question in her newsletter discussing the controversy around the director's look. She can’t help but wonder if the “method dressing” has gotten too methodical. Has it? 

Actresses and actors turning into completely different people for the sake of their characters' style. Although it's adored, do we expect Zendaya to wear tennis outfits forever? Ariana Grande pink floral ones? Or Margot Robbie to wear a Barbie referenced look for the rest of her life? No. And even though one liked it, and even the stars and their stylists possibly did, there is a bottom line to everything. However, there is always something unusual coming up. 

Recently, at the Met Gala, a may-be-considered method dressing occurrence took center stage. While Kim Kardashian was walking in a snitched lavish Maison Margiela corseted look, she paired it with a bland gray cardigan to “add to the performance.” But what performance was that, exactly?

And, is it odd to consider why Margiela is involved in many of these cases? Although we got the answer for both of these — one desires the publicity while the other is one of the few brands that make drama happen on the runway and in its designs — the truth is that taking something away from the performance to reality doesn't discredit it, it humanizes it.

 And isn't that what fashion is all about? As much as one loves storytelling and creativity in fashion, it is sometimes forgotten that the main purpose of clothing is for practical reasons — protection. And perhaps express one or two things about the way one wishes to be perceived.

When someone buys a clothing item, whether it's out of necessity or pure amazement, one re-imagines it and adapts it to fit its life, needs, and style. That's fashion. Gerwig has reinterpreted an extremely dramatic look to a casual yet romantic work event outfit, a transformation that seems reasonable. 

Sometimes, as so much performance is valued when seen, it can be forgotten that personal expression and more subtle power are other reasons why one is so captivated by fashion. An item of clothing can be special for many different reasons — a connection to a significant other, its price, its luxury, a personal meaning, its quality, its style, its comfort, what it represents, and so on. 

And what makes Gerwig’s look special then, you ask. It's technique. With a well-constructed back, the stripes are also millimetrically aligned in the pleating. The construction, excellence of craftsmanship, and molding make Greta Gerwig's look special. That, and the fact that she wore the dress, being anyone other than herself.