Is the Crown Princess of Cannes, Bella Hadid, already tired of the festival's restrictive head-to-toe dress code? Her quick flight to London, and quick-change into Nike sneakers, says yes.
Hadid had an excuse for leaving the French Riviera a full week before the Cannes conclusion (aside from avoiding the chatter around her Saint Laurent dresses, Chopard diamonds, and their potential compliance with the festival's sartorial mandates). Her fragrance brand, Ôrebella, is launching in the U.K., and she needed to personally oversee her gemstone-inspired perfume bottles' debut in a new market. And the minute she made it across the English channel for the May 14 occasion, she stepped out of her Cannes-mandated heels and into a pair of retro Nike Air Max sneakers.
Heading to a London studio, the model layered her anti-trend sneakers beneath a ruffled polka dot skirt and leather jacket, plus her trusty Saint Laurent Sac De Jour tote bag. The combination blended the whimsy of Copenhagen—where skirts and sneakers are practically the uniform—with the edge of London's typical street style. Her exact pair tying the whole look together are the Nike Air Max 95, confirmed to Marie Claire by a rep for the brand. (You're welcome!)
These days, the celebrity sneaker market is dominated by two related trends. Retro runners like the Adidas Tokyo and Puma Speedcat dominate one end; ballet sneakers with ribbon-like laces rule the other. Hadid herself spent early spring devoted to the latter category, making several appearances in pairs of Vivaia's pointe shoe-inspired kicks.
Chunkier sneakers like a variation of Nike Air Maxes are a step in a new direction. While Kaia Gerber, Dakota Johnson, and Jennifer Lawrence have been devoted to the Nike V2K Max for the past year or so, Hadid hasn't chosen a similarly amped-up style. (That is, in the public eye.) Between the bouncy, supportive soles and the minimalist, goes-with-everything design, her newfound Nike appreciation is easy to unpack.
Some red carpet watchers might have hoped for a streak of outfits to rival last year's marathon showing, where Hadid stacked vintage Versace, runway Saint Laurent, and as-yet-unreleased Jacquemus in rapid succession. But actually, Hadid gave her followers something even better: a fresh Nike sneaker and another outfit template anyone can emulate.
