SPECIAL FEATURE LAURENCE XU Fan wore Cartier earrings with her Cannes 2010 “dragon robe.” If you think Cannes is just about movies, you’ve been hiding under the Croisette. While the Oscars and Met Ball were the fashion ne plus ultras for years, Cannes now gives those sartorial tentpoles a run for their euros. “Cannes is like two weeks of the Oscars,” says Sahar Sanjar of La Chambre, which represents Palais-steps mainstay Elie Saab. Adds Carlos Souza of Valentino: “Red carpets now rule the day — and the red carpet at Cannes is truly for the entire world.” MARCHESA <strong>The</strong> dress was flown to L.A. on the morning of the 2013 Oscars. VALENTINO For a L’Oreal dinner at Cannes 2012, Fan chose floral chiffon. THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 20 Up to now, she’s worn a Chinese-style gown — the most recent two designed by her stylist, Christopher Bu — but her X-Men schedule might not allow time for an original creation. “<strong>The</strong> designers are good to me,” she says of her access to the festival fashion suites. “<strong>The</strong> clothes I want, they’ll hold on to them.” “[Compared to other Asian stars], Fan seems to have the most fun with fashion,” says Catherine Kallon, founder of the U.K.-based blog Red Carpet Fashion Awards. “She’s more of a risk-taker.” Fan understands her influence — she recently was named No. 1 on Forbes China’s Celebrity 100 — but says luxury brands can’t take Chinese consumers for granted. “<strong>The</strong>re was a period when China was very label-conscious. But now I think Chinese women will use more of their creativity,” says the star, who once showed up in the front row at Elie Saab with one of the designer’s beaded cardigans wrapped around her head like a turban. “<strong>The</strong>re are more people who really know fashion as a lifestyle, an attitude. China is catching up.” Fan’s expanding film career — she founded her own production studio in 2007, signed with WME in 2012 and has just been cast opposite Jackie Chan in the upcoming action comedy Skiptrace — will only amplify her voice as the unofficial Chinese ambassador to the fashion and beauty realms. But her off-duty look is T-shirts, jeans, flats and no makeup: “When I wear makeup, it’s to go out and make money,” she jokes. “Otherwise, no way.” MOVIES, WHAT MOVIES? AT <strong>CANNES</strong>, FASHION HOGS THE SPOTLIGHT <strong>The</strong> film festival has become a key global marketing platform for high-end designer labels: ‘All brands want to be there’ By MERLE GINSBERG Gucci creative director Frida Giannini (left) and Watts at 2012’s Vanity Fair party at Hotel du Cap. More than even the Oscars, the fest connects brands to a global audience — including the Asian retail market — with ambassadors such as China’s Fan Bingbing and Li Bingbing and India’s Aishwarya Rai, Sonam Kapoor and Freida Pinto. To reach a broad swath of markets, brands like L’Oreal, a festival sponsor, send as many multiculti ambassadors as they can; Fan, Rai, Pinto and Ines de la Fressange went to the festival last year. Wearing the best beads and ball gowns on the Palais steps, these stars cause the cameras to go wild, contributing to a riviera of fashion impressions, which can include coverage of the luxury brand suites at Hotel Martinez. Says Sanjar: “<strong>The</strong>re are actually more requests this year from international journalists to cover fashion suites” — by Gucci, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Jimmy Choo and Bulgari. Actresses and their stylists circulate among them to make selections for soirees and photo ops. Saab, who in 2011 dressed Dutch model Doutzen Kroes, will be taking a larger suite this year. <strong>The</strong> list of fashion parties grows longer than the gown trains: Giorgio Armani throws one nearly every year, including its 2012 black-tie blowout in honor of Sean Penn’s Haiti charity. Gucci throws major parties with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, and for two years running, Calvin Klein has hosted its Women in Film soiree, attended last year by Jessica Chastain and Naomi Watts. <strong>The</strong> annual amfAR ball on the fest’s final night brings out the most eyepopping displays of posh pulchritude. “It’s the ultimate international fashion spectacle,” says Sandra Choi, Jimmy Choo creative director. “<strong>The</strong>re is such a wealth of talent in one place, making it a platform to showcase dynamic looks” — as well as scout for ambassadors who can make your stilettos look todie-for for buyers in China. <strong>The</strong> fashion presence hit a pinnacle From left: Shailene Woodley, Chastain, Watts, French actress Ludivine Sagnier, Kruger and Independent Filmmaker Project’s Joana Vicente at 2012’s Women in Film fete. last year with Jean Paul Gaultier sitting on the Cannes jury. This year, Raf Simons will show the Dior 2013 resort collection in nearby Monaco on May 18, which will bring out Marion Cotillard (who stars in partner Guillaume Canet’s Blood Ties, showing at the fest) and likely her fellow Dior faces Charlize <strong>The</strong>ron and Natalie Portman. Add in 10 days’ and nights’ worth of spectacular wardrobes for Cannes jurors Uma Thurman, Diane Kruger and Nicole Kidman in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively, and you’ve got a veritable fashion circus. “Not only does Cannes create worldwide awareness, it actually affects sales. Trust me on that,” says Sanjar. “All the brands want to be there.” DRAGON ROBE: MICHAEL BUCKNER/GETTY IMAGES. DRAGON ROBE EARRING: SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES. OSCARS & L’OREAL DINNER: PASCAL LE SERETAIN/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES. WOODLEY: DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES. WATTS: DANIELE VENTMELLI/GETTY IMAGES FOR GUCCI.
Congratulations FAN BINGBING on being recognized as <strong>The</strong> <strong>Hollywood</strong> <strong>Reporter</strong>’s International Artist of the Year from all of us at Exclusive Media and Talent International We are so proud to be collaborating with you on the new film SKIPTRACE
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