See Elle Fanning Wear A Necklace As A Top In Impressive Metallic Party Dress

Elle Fanning as Catherine holding up a small glass in The Great.
(Image credit: Hulu)

Elle Fanning has always been a fashion icon in her own right, but when she attends the Cannes Film Festival, you know she’s really going to bring her outfit A-game to the prestigious event. While the actress was seen in a gorgeous elegant gown during one premiere, the next day she rocked quite the metallic shiny dress that featured a chest-baring necklace as a top, and she looked stunning. 

The Great star’s dress was designed by Paco Rabanne, and it featured an intricate maxi skirt made of what looks like metallic feathers. Then on the top half of the dress, two metal flowers covered Fanning’s breasts and were connected up into a necklace by a metal bar. In its own unique way, this gown reminded me of the time Sydney Sweeney rocked a butt necklace on a red carpet or the time Rachel Zegler wore an under-boob baring dress during Paris Fashion Week. Both looks were edgy and unconventional, but also elegant in their own ways, and the same can be said about Elle Fanning’s look, which she posted on Instagram:

The reason for this fabulously unconventional dress is that she was attending a party celebrating the designer of the outfit, and the dress code was “skin-bearing looks comprised of unconventional materials,” according to W Magazine. Well, let’s just say this actress understood the assignment and would get extra credit. 

When Fanning described the vibe of her look in the caption, she did it perfectly with a bunch of disco ball emojis, and the sentence:

Now THISSSSS is a partyyyy dressss

I agree, this dress was made to “partyyyy” with all the extra y’s. 

To finish off the look, Fanning rocked silver heels and carried a silver Y2K purse. Her hair was straightened with a middle part, and she had a subtle smokey eye for her makeup look. Overall, the dress was the star of this show, and her entire ensemble helped emphasize that point. 

Along with the stunning photos, Fanning also posted a few videos of the dress, because in motion it both literally and figuratively shines even brighter. Seeing the metal reflect in the sun as the feathers swish around is quite a sight, and the actress seemed to be absolutely thriving in the dress. Not only was the Emmy-nominee loving the look, some of her famous friends were also showing their adoration for it as they commented:

  •  Deceeeeeeased -Lucy Boynton 
  •  WOW -Maude Apatow 
  •  No words!! You’re inspiring a whole new vocabulary!! ❤️🔥 -Cara Buono 
  •  ❤️ -Chelsea Handler 
  •  🤩-Murray Bartlett 

I’d have to agree with all these comments, Elle Fanning was giving knight in shining armor, but make it high fashion, and I’m so here for it!

On top of this stunning look from Cannes, Fanning’s series The Great recently premiered its third season and both on and off the screen the actress has been rocking looks that are fit for an empress. While you won’t be seeing any metallic ensembles like her festival dress in Season 3 of The Great, which recently dropped on the 2023 TV schedule, Elle Fanning is still dressed to the nines in stunning outfits. She also gives an Emmy-worthy performance in the latest season, which can be streamed with a Hulu subscription once you're done marveling at this iconic, metallic necklace-turned-top dress.

Riley Utley
Weekend Editor

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.