Cannes fashion: Why high heels might not be the 'smart' option

The Cannes Film Festival is best known for unofficially marking the beginning of the film year, and as a precursor for what’s to come in the next 12 months. More recently however, it has become a battleground for footwear. The ongoing conversation about the height of women’s heels was in the news last week when a female receptionist at PricewaterhouseCooper was sent home from her job for wearing flat shoes. And the battle has raged on in Cannes.

The footwear argument began at last year's festival, when according to industry paper Screen Daily, a group of women was turned away from the premiere of Carol for wearing "rhinestone flats". That this occurred at a film based around feminist themes added to the insult in the eyes of many commentators.

Actress Emily Blunt, at Cannes last year to promote Sicario, weighed in telling a news conference; "Everyone should wear flats, to be honest. We shouldn't wear high heels." She described the reports of the Carol incident as "very disappointing, just when you kind of think there are these new waves of equality".

The heel-height crusade has continued at this year's festival, with a number of actresses removing their shoes and letting their toes feel the French air. Julia Roberts turned up to the opening of Money Monster wearing very high heels but half-way down the red carpet she removed them. Whether she was making a statement or not remains unclear as there are reports of a bleeding foot which may be cause of the shoe removal. But whether it was due to pain or though protest, a point was made as Roberts laughed her way barefoot into the theatre.

Young actress Sasha Lane, who is garnering praise for her performance in American Honey, followed suit the same day, going completely barefoot at a photocall for the film. Other Hollywood heavyweights such as Susan Sarandon are opting for the ever so slightly less revolutionary route, and wearing glamorous flats.

Kirsten Stewart, who traditionally favours comfort over glamour, has been wearing heels to most events, but at the premiere of Personal Shopper changed into a worn pair of converse. She highlighted the gender parity in dress codes at the launch of her new film Cafe Society saying, "Things have to change immediately. It has become really obvious that if [a man and I] were walking the red carpet together and someone stopped me and said, 'Excuse me, young lady, you're not wearing heels. You cannot come in.' Then [I'm going to say], 'Neither is my friend. Does he have to wear heels?' It can work both ways. It's just like you simply cannot ask me to do something that you are not asking him. I get the black-tie thing but you should be able to do either version – flats or heels,"

Despite the furore it is unclear as to whether high heels are obligatory on the Cannes red-carpet. Official guidelines are difficult to come by but it is clear that men must wear black-tie and women must be “smartly dressed”. Cannes director, Thierry Fremaux has denied the necessity of heels, saying “The rumour saying the festival insists on high heels for women on the red carpet is unfounded.” The problems however, seem to arise when the decision on how is “smartly dressed” a guest is, is left in the hands of the security at the door. After all, one woman’s Carven trainer is another’s Louboutin.