Changing face of the cote demure

Brassy Sharon Stone, and Salma Hayek in Prada. Picture / Reuters

Burgundy is not a colour normally associated with red-carpet dressing, being rather too understated for this most overstated of environments.

At the opening of the Cannes Film Festival, Salma Hayek, a jury member, wasn't too proud to wear that colour, nonetheless. Her luggage turned up late, but Hayek being Hayek, got to pick from fashion's big names - from Louis Vuitton to Fendi - who were queuing up to oblige.

In the end, the lady opted for Prada. This is far from the obvious label for the red carpet, given the discreet nature of its designer's aesthetic, but the choice was still a clever one.

Playing things down is fashionable just now. Hayek was not the only actress to adopt this more subtle approach.

Scarlett Johansson was sweet rather than sirenesque in a cream summer dress more suited to a garden party than a big entrance.

Natalie Portman turned to that staple of simple chic, the little black dress, looking lovely even without her hair.

French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg went for feathered leather Balenciaga, which, though not designed for everyday wear, is low-profile next to the average (delete where appropriate) backless/strapless, gold/silver, beaded/embroidered, floor-sweeping sheath/fishtail dress.

Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquiere has said he isn't interested in the type of overblown statement normally required for the red carpet: "Everything is so focused on that special event, and those public appearances, but that is not a game I want to play too much."

He makes an exception for his friend Ms Gainsbourg, however. But, of course!

Even so, the label over which he presides is associated more with a sophisticated urban environment, and is identifiable more by fashion obsessives (you know who you are) than by the mainstream.

Everyone who is anyone wears Balenciaga, but they don't have their image scattered across the pages of Now! or Heat magazines for their pains.

And that is precisely the point. With every half-baked celebrity's image now appearing week-in, week-out, here, there and everywhere, in top-to-toe, loud-and-proud designer clothing, it pays for those who care about such things to take a step back, rise above it all in a suitably haughty manner and, paradoxically perhaps, play it right down.

True, they might not end up with as much publicity as their less discerning sisters, but they will exude a pleasingly relaxed view of their own importance, as well as a pleasingly obscure fashion status, which is, surely, a more intelligent way forward.

The truly extraordinary British actress Tilda Swinton takes this principle to the extreme. The Viktor & Rolf dress that she chose to wear this week, with its oversized bow at one shoulder and less-than-form-fitting silhouette, was more about showing the work of two designers to whom she has long had an allegiance than vanity.

Sharon Stone, who once stole the show at the Oscars in a meringue of a Vera Wang skirt and a Gap T-shirt, was, at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the exception that proved the rule. With her gravy-brown skin, hyper-blonde hair and matching gold satin gown, she looked nothing short of brassy.

Stone's choice of outfit highlights the difference between the American and European approaches to red-carpet dressing.

Over the past two years, American style, vintage Hollywood glamour in particular, has dominated, and most designers seem happy to cater to it by churning out endless permutations of, basically, the same dress. This fulfils two purposes: the gym-toned celebrity shows off her curves to ultimate effect and full-on publicity is assured. But if this week at Cannes is anything to go by, the tables may be turning.

The European contingent is, of course, always far more readily moody in appearance. Just look at Juliette Binoche each year at the Oscars.

But if Stone was a sore thumb, she did remember the first rule of fashion: stand next to a model at your peril.

With this in mind, the faux pas of Cannes 2005 must surely be the sight of Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria and Antipodean singer Natalie Imbruglia standing beside the eastern European supermodel Natalia Vodianova. Prematurely aged toddlers spring to mind. This is never a good look, overdressed or otherwise.

- INDEPENDENT