CANNES, France — Marion Cotillard is expressing her independent streak in Cannes. The Oscar-winning actress has been lending her support to a range of buzzy young independent labels at the city’s film festival.
Her choices have ranged from a floor-length T-shirt dress with corset accents and triple-cuffed jeans by Y/Project, worn last week to the photo call for her new film, “Ismael’s Ghosts,” to the disco-laced, sequin-embroidered draped bustier and flare trouser by rising London-based label Halpern that she donned for the Chopard Trophy awards ceremony on Monday.
“I’m surrounded by a great group of people,” the actress told WWD at the Chopard event.
“Ever since I was a kid, I have loved experimenting with clothes, even if it wasn’t always a success,” she said, describing how she would customize the costumes of her father, Jean-Claude Cotillard, who was a Breton mime artist and theater director.
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Her favorite festival look so far, she said, was the black Jacquemus ensemble she wore to a party held by Madame Figaro. “He’s special, he has something very deep,” she said of the label’s namesake designer.
Cotillard’s longtime stylist, who goes by the stage name Eliot Bliss, described the process of choosing the looks she wears as “organic.” Bliss, who is also a photographer, illustrator and filmmaker, said he works with a collective of talents from different sectors of the industry.
While supporting young talent is nothing new for Cotillard, it has possibly become more visible since her contract with Dior came to an end around five months ago, after eight years as the face of the house’s Lady Dior bag, he said. “But even when she was with Dior, she was free to wear other designers.”
Getting to know the creatives behind the brands is also key for Cotillard. The actress maintains a special connection with Jean Paul Gaultier, who dressed her for the festival’s opening ceremony last week, when she mounted the steps alongside fellow “Ismael’s Ghosts” lead Charlotte Gainsbourg in a black pin-striped corset gown by the couturier.
“She totally inhabits the clothes, and she can pull off anything,” said Bliss.
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