by Jewish News Channel
Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 12:05 PM
Cate Blanchett Uses Cannes Film Festival To Support Palestine
For many, the message Cate Blanchett conveyed on the Cannes red carpet on Monday was unmistakable. At first glance, her sleek, off-the-shoulder Jean Paul Gaultier gown, designed by Colombian-born French designer Haider Ackermann, seemed like a simple black dress. However, as Blanchett moved, cameras captured the back of the dress appearing white and its green inner lining when she lifted the hem. On the red carpet, Blanchett seemed to embody the colours of the Palestinian flag.
This gesture aligns with the Australian actor’s history of advocacy. Last November, during a period when Hollywood figures faced backlash for speaking against Israel’s actions in Gaza, Blanchett called for a ceasefire and support for refugees at the European Parliament.
“I am a witness, and having witnessed the human cost of war, violence, and persecution while visiting refugees from across the globe, I cannot look away.”
Blanchett was also one of the early signatories of Artists4Ceasefire’s open letter to Joe Biden, urging an end to the war. Consequently, many interpreted her dress as a subtle yet powerful expression of solidarity.
Dr Zahira Jaser, an associate professor at the University of Sussex Business School of Palestinian descent, praised Blanchett’s subtlety on social media, while a pop culture fan account echoed the admiration.
Blanchett, a UN refugee agency ambassador since 2016, has not publicly commented on her gown, nor have her stylist Elizabeth Stewart or Ackermann. On International Women’s Day, Ackermann posted on Instagram about intersectional feminism, including a call for the women of Gaza.
Blanchett styled the gown differently for the Cannes premiere of “The Apprentice,” a biopic about Donald Trump, compared to its original runway presentation. “The previously all-black gown is now two-tone, bearing more than a passing resemblance to the Palestinian flag,” noted Freya Drohan, a New York-based fashion writer.
Blanchett’s practice of repurposing fashion adds another layer of thought to her choices, according to Drohan, who suggested that Blanchett’s intentionality in highlighting the green lining was significant.
The dress’s potential symbolism reminded Wafa Ghnaim, a Palestinian American dress historian, of a tradition from the first intifada in 1987, when Palestinian women embroidered the flag’s colours into their dresses to circumvent a ban on the flag itself.
Blanchett is known for her outspoken activism. In 2018, she led 82 women onto the Cannes red carpet to protest gender inequality in the film industry.
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