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Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, followers of events known for being fashion spectacles \u2014 the Oscars<\/a>, the Met Gala<\/a>, Eurovision<\/a> \u2014 have watched them become venues for making sartorial as well as political statements about the conflict.<\/p>\n The Cannes Festival in France has not been immune to this trend. Several attendees have used the red carpet<\/a> on the Croisette to show their support for Israelis or Palestinians during the film festival, with some wearing sashes saying \u201cbring them home,\u201d referring to Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, and others wearing red pins calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.<\/p>\n Off the carpet, the model Bella Hadid ate ice cream near the beach in Cannes wearing a dress made of the material used for kaffiyehs<\/a>, the scarves<\/a> long seen as a symbol of Palestinians solidarity and identity.<\/p>\n But those obvious displays have not generated as much buzz as the dress that the actress Cate Blanchett wore on Monday to the premiere of \u201cThe Apprentice<\/a>,\u201d a docudrama about the early life of former President Donald J. Trump.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n At first glance the gown \u2014 a piece from the designer Haider Ackermann\u2019s one-off spring 2023 couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier<\/a> \u2014 looked like a simple black dress worn with a pearl necklace across the length of Ms. Blanchett\u2019s bare shoulders.<\/p>\n But as she began to walk the carpet, flashes of other colors emerged: The back of the dress was a pink so pale that it appeared white, and the gown had an emerald green interior lining that Ms. Blanchett repeatedly revealed by lifting its train. The dress had been significantly altered since it appeared on the runway<\/a>, where it had a knee-length hemline, a lime-green back and a lavender lining.<\/p>\n As photos of the actress spread online, some interpreted her wearing that palette on a red carpet as a tribute to the black, green, white and red Palestinian flag.<\/p>\n Photos of Ms. Blanchett in the dress posted on Instagram by her stylist<\/a> and her makeup artist<\/a> received dozens of comments with emojis of the Palestinian flag or a watermelon, a symbol used to show support for Palestinians<\/a> partly because the fruit has a similar color scheme as the flag.<\/p>\n Ms. Blanchett, who does not have her own social media accounts, has not publicly commented on the dress. Representatives for the actress did not respond to requests for comment for this article; neither did her stylist, Mr. Ackerman, or representatives for Jean Paul Gaultier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But Ms. Blanchett\u2019s making such a statement would not be totally inconceivable. In November the actress, who is a good-will ambassador of the United Nations\u2019 refugee agency, called for a cease-fire in Gaza while addressing the European Parliament<\/a>. She also signed a petition circulated in Hollywood<\/a> demanding President Biden to push for a cease-fire in Gaza.<\/p>\n Then again, the dress was technically pink, black and green; without the red carpet beneath it, the garment alone bears little resemblance to the flag. So people could also be projecting the role of activist onto the actress.<\/p>\n One certainty of the speculation about Ms. Blanchett\u2019s dress: A picture says a thousand words.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Those who have been glued to the red carpets in Cannes may have missed a string of more somber developments that occurred in the fashion industry as the film festival got underway.<\/p>\n On May 13, the day before Cannes began, the designer Roksanda Ilincic<\/a> in London announced that she was selling the independent namesake<\/a> label she founded in 2005 to The Brand Group, a company specializing in brand management and development, in order to avert bankruptcy.<\/p>\n On Sunday, the designer Mara Hoffman announced in Vogue that she was shuttering<\/a> her namesake label 24 years after she started it in New York and months after Ms. Hoffman received an environmental sustainability award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And on Tuesday came the news that The Vampire\u2019s Wife<\/a>, a British brand whose gothic, retro-glam dresses have earned fans in Florence Welch, Sienna Miller, Sarah Jessica Parker and Catherine, Princess of Wales, was closing after eight years in business.<\/p>\n The challenging wholesale environment \u2014 created largely by the collapse of e-commerce retailers like MatchesFashion<\/a> and the aggressive buying tactics of others \u2014 was referenced by both Ms. Ilincic and Susie Cave, the founder of the Vampire\u2019s Wife, in statements each released about the sale and the shuttering of their respective brands.<\/p>\n Rising costs of labor and materials have also made it harder and harder to compete, especially for independent designers, like Ms. Hoffman, trying to produce clothes more sustainably<\/a>.<\/p>\n As she told Vogue, \u201cIf we\u2019re going to have brands like Mara Hoffman that are using everything they can to make some sort of transformation, there have to be different support systems built for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n If any trend has guided bridal wear in recent years, it might be the move away from the big white confection that has traditionally been worn as a wedding dress. White pants<\/a> and jumpsuits have become popular, as have bridal bikinis<\/a>, bright pops of color<\/a> and even panty-revealing gowns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThree Independent Designers Give Up Their Labels<\/h2>\n
For Brides Who See the Aisle as a Runway<\/h2>\n