F or some, the message Cate Blanchett brought to the Cannes red carpet on Monday rang loud and clear. At first, her form-fitting, off-the-shoulder Jean Paul Gaultier gown – designed by the Colombian-born French designer Haider Ackermann – looked like a simple black dress. But when Blanchett moved, cameras captured the back of the dress, which appeared white.
When she lifted her hem, they captured its green inner lining, too. Against the red carpet, Blanchett appeared to be a walking tribute to the Palestinian flag. It wouldn’t be out of character for the Australian actor.
Last November, amid a flurry of silencing of Hollywood figures who spoke out against the atrocities of Israel’s war on Gaza, Blanchett called for a ceasefire and support of refugees at the European parliament. “I am not from Israel or Palestine. I am not a politician.
I am not even a pundit,” she said. “But I am a witness, and having witnessed the human cost of war, violence and persecution visiting refugees from across the globe, I cannot look away.” Blanchett was also one of the original Hollywood players who signed Artists4Ceasefire’s open letter to Joe Biden calling for an end to the war.
So, many took this dress as Blanchett coyly showing solidarity once again. “When I grow up I want to become Cate Blanchett, and have the subtlety to think the carpet is already red, so I can just wear a black & white dress with green lining to make such a strong point,” Dr Zahira Jaser, an associat.
