CNN) — The Cannes red carpet is officially in full swing, with stars flocking to the French Riviera for the annual Film Festival. Now in its 78th year, the event is a jewel in the calendar of both lofty cinephiles and polished fashionistas. Since last week, actors, directors, producers and influencers have been ascending the carpeted steps — not just to promote their latest feature film at the high temple of world cinema, but also to turn a look.

This year, the fashion stakes were upped before the festival even opened its doors — prompted by a change in the official dress code, announced just hours before kick-off. Nudity was explicitly banned (also prohibiting the current celebrity favorite ‘naked’ dress trend that has dominated the red carpet in recent years); as were “voluminous outfits” with large trains for the sake of traffic control. –read more–