Plenty of pretty and charming models and starlets and girls-about-town have descended en masse to traipse down the red carpets across the Cannes Film Festival this week, soaking in the glamour of La Croisette in their shimmering, body-skimming gowns, perfectly groomed and utterly trussed up for the cameras. It can get a little ridiculous, actually, when you consider that they’re going to be sitting in a movie theater in all of their (often uncomfortable) finery. Which makes the far more pared-back sultry look courtesy of the French actress and singer Emmanuelle Seigner that much more appealing.
Seigner, a Cannes Film Festival veteran who is turning 50 next month, has been known to produce some red carpet smolder when required, with sartorial smashes including a silver Grecian-style number in 2006 and an Alexandre Vauthier gown whose décolletage skimmed her navel for the 2013 premiere of Venus in Fur. She certainly isn’t afraid of making a statement. “I really love those dresses that Alexandre Vauthier is making, for the evening or Cannes.” That doesn’t mean it was the most practical of choices. “It wasn’t very comfortable because I couldn’t move much,” she says of the red dress. “I was afraid something was going to come out!” (Proving the lasting power of a red carpet rave, the look has solidified itself virtually, too: The red dress is one of the first images that pops up for “Emmanuelle Seigner” on Google.)
Though many of Seigner’s contemporaries are at an age when they are expected to cover up, Seigner doesn’t see a time limit when it comes to baring skin. For her, it all comes down to confidence—and really, it always has. “I was always comfortable with myself. I never had this type of problem, I was always very comfortable with myself, even as a young girl and as a teenager,” says Seigner, on the phone from France. “I was lucky, I guess. It’s not because I think I’m the most beautiful girl in the world, it isn’t because I am pretentious, it is just that I am always relaxed with myself and I accept my faults.” As for her preparation for those big nights? Don’t expect any sort of Spanx or a crazy workout regimen—Seigner has a decidedly more practical approach to red carpet prep: “I stop stuffing myself with cake months before.” Is it just us, or does red carpet glamour suddenly look a lot more fun?
Above, see Seigner’s best hits from the Cannes Film Festival.