Halle Berry flouts Cannes' dress code at Mission: Impossible premiere

Halle Berry flouted Cannes Film Festival's new dress code on Wednesday evening as she hit the red carpet in a voluminous gown ahead of the hotly anticipated Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning screening. 

The American actress, 58, who was forced to change her opening ceremony dress last minute due to the festival's new risqué dress ban, looked incredible in a chic black-and-pink gown from Celia Kritharioti's Spring 2025 Couture collection. 

However, Halle seemingly broke the festival's controversial new rules as her floor-length gown boasted a fitted black bustier, a voluminous checked pink skirt, and a black train. 

The Catwoman star added height to her frame with a pair of pointed black court heels, featuring diamond ankle straps. 

She further elevated the glamorous red carpet ensemble with a dazzling diamond statement necklace. 

To complete her look, she styled her short brunette bob in tousled waves and wore a radiant makeup palette. 

Her red carpet appearance comes after she revealed she was forced to make a last-minute change to the dress she'd planned to wear for the Film Festival's opening ceremony, due to the event's strict new rules on risqué gowns. 

The actress is no stranger to stunning with her looks, and even went underwear-free in her daring dress at the Met Gala last week.

But as this year's festival kicked off with its opening ceremony on Tuesday, Halle confessed she had to reconsider the outfit she'd planned, as its long train breached the festival's new rules.

Over the weekend, Cannes organisers released strict new guidelines in an attempt to stifle the celebrity trend for 'naked dresses' - namely provocative outfits that reveal considerably more than they conceal - on the red carpet.

Speaking at the festival's first press conference, Halle said: 'I had an amazing dress by Gupta to wear tonight, and I cannot wear it because the train is too big. 

'Of course, I'm going to follow the rules, so I had to make a pivot. But the nudity part, I do think, is probably also a good move.'

The Catwoman star was also asked her thoughts on calls for a female incarnation of James Bond, following the rights to the franchise being acquired by Amazon.

Halle insisted there shouldn't be a female Bond, saying: 'I don't know if 007 really should be a woman.

'I mean, in 2025, it's nice to say, Oh, she should be a woman, but I don't really know if I think that's the right thing to do.'

The star has joined big names including Juliette Binoche and Jeremy Strong on this year's Cannes Jury.

'This is a huge honour to be asked to be a part of this jury,' Halle added.

'This is one of the biggest film festivals in the world. As we talked about in our jury meeting, careers are made in this festival, and so I take it as a real honour to be here and share this experience with these wonderful jurors.

'My expectations are to be a part of this jury and get to know all these wonderful people that are part of this experience. I expect to see wonderful films.'

'I don't think there's any preparation. I think just being in film for 30 years, I do think I have a unique perspective. We all do. We all have a unique perspective when we watch film. 

'No one person owns the truth. All we will be able to do, the nine of us, is to give our own individual perspectives on all the movies that we're going to see. I look forward to hearing what everybody else has to say. 

'That's the beauty that makes us human, is that we're all different and we all see things from our different cultural backgrounds, our family of origin, our age, our gender. 

'I'm looking forward to the conversations and really seeing what brings us together, but also sometimes those things that separate us because that's also beautiful.'

Over recent years, the star-studded extravaganza has arguably won more attention for the outfits worn by its celebrity guests than the roster of feature films being screened on the Croisette. 

But new nudity rules, devised for 'the sake of decency,' will be implemented when French director Amélie Bonnin's Leave One Day opens the ceremony this week.  

According to organisers, the austere move is an attempt to stifle the celebrity trend for 'naked dresses' - namely provocative outfits that reveal considerably more than they conceal - on the red carpet.

The new rules have also banned voluminous gowns with long trains, as they 'hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theatre.'

'For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as any other area of the festival,' states a Cannes festival document. 

'The festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.' 

The surprise new policy features in a recent festival-goers charter - released with a series of outlines regarding expected public behaviour. 

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Halle Berry, 56, reveals she's had to make last-minute dress change ahead of Cannes' opening ceremony due to festival's risqué gown ban - and says why there shouldn't be a female Bond

Guests are expected to converge on the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière for some of the highest profile film screenings across a packed seven-day schedule in Cannes. 

It's understood that the iconic venue now adopts a more conservative dress code, with suits, dinner jackets, and floor-length evening gowns generally favoured over headline-grabbing ensembles. 

Classic little black dresses, cocktail dresses, pant-suits, dressy tops and elegant sandals, 'with or without a heel', will also be permitted.  

While the decision to implement a more stringent policy will be a first, it is not known if French TV broadcasters, wary of airing nudity, played a role in its enforcement. 

Major red carpet events, including the Cannes Film Festival, are aired in France by France Télévisions.

Recently attracting more models and influencers than actors and filmmakers, the annual ceremony has seen an increase in risque red carpet fashion statements. 

In 2021, American supermodel Bella Hadid bared her cleavage in a plunging black gown while attending a screening of Tre Piani (Three Floors).

She pulled a similar stunt three years later, with guests at the 2024 gala left speechless after she attended the premiere of Donald Trump's biopic The Apprentice completely braless beneath a sheer brown evening dress.