CANNES: With so few red carpets to walk this past year, stars, celebs and the world´s sharpest-elbowed influencers piled onto the "tapis rouge" at the Cannes film festival.
Not even the absence of Lea Seydoux -- sidelined by a last-minute case of Covid -- could dim the glamour.
Here is our pick of the most unforgettable looks of the fortnight:
Bella Hadid took the breath away with her Schiaparelli "lungs" dress, the bust replaced by two sculpted gold bronchial branches that cupped her breasts.
True to his reputation as couture´s most daring designer, Daniel Roseberry said he wanted to celebrate the lungs as Europe breathes again after Covid.
Cannes fashion: The good, the bad and the plain weird
Some worried Hadid would catch her death in it, though.
To their less enlightened eyes, Hadid´s lungs looked as if they had been turned inside out and dipped in gold.
The US supermodel also went all out in a Jean Paul Gaultier black scarf bodice, proving twice in two days that you don´t have to have a bust to rock a bustier.
While some might question whether Spike Lee, who heads the Cannes jury, had done the right thing by putting festival postcards up for sale on his site for 100 bucks, no one could doubt his style even as he sported Nikes emblazoned with his own face.
At 63 he still has it, attracting every camera on the Croisette with a fuchsia Louis Vuitton zoot suit and matching sunglasses.
Hat tip too at his berets for every occasion -- from Black Panther to Bastille Day French tricolour to Jean-Paul Sartre chin-stroker.
While Bella and Spike did sass, Tilda Swinton does class like no other. She was ubiquitous at Cannes, appearing in five films and bringing her White Duke androgynous cool to some wonderful "clothes that my friends made for me", as she put it.
Dearest Jonathan Anderson of Loewe created a white apostolic robe for her "Memoria" press conference, adorned with feathers in the colours of Colombia, where the movie was shot.
Ten minutes, 400 metres and a costume change later she was accepting the Palm Dog award for best canine performance at Cannes on behalf of her spaniels.
As the red collar was fastened round her neck, knees of every gender and none wobbled.
Her dogs feature alongside her and her daughter Honor in the two acclaimed "Souvenir" films by British director Joanna Hogg.
Honor even raided her mum´s wardrobe -- which must be about the size of Andorra -- for vintage pieces for the film.
Sharon Stone cried a river at Cannes. And we can´t say we blame her. The famously brainy star of "Basic Instinct" was given one of France´s highest cultural honours at the festival.
That Dolce & Gabbana gown couldn´t have helped either, leaving her looking like she had been dragged backwards through a rose bush in a fishing net.
"Notting Hill" actress Andie MacDowell may no longer be big box office but she proved that older stars still shine by showing off her lockdown grey hair.
The American stole much of the opening night attention with her glorious mane.
As the trending #SilverSisters hashtag proved, she looked amazing.
"Annette" director Leos Carax also let it all go the same night, appearing in a suit that looked like to have been borrowed from one of the Croisette´s less well turned-out tramps.
German influencer Leonie Hanne scored an even bigger fail, spending an eternity flapping her butterfly sleeves in a vain attempt to go one better than the Wright brothers (or to attract the attention of the photographers) at Matt Damon´s "Stillwater" premiere.
After failing to take flight, she promptly tripped on the carpet.
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