May 16th 2024

Megalopolis Screening in Cannes

The red Carpet

Grace attended the screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s MEGALOPOLIS at the Cannes film festival, together with the other stars. In the group photo from the left Shia LaBeouf, John Voight, D.B. Sweeney, Grace, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Francis Ford Coppola, Romy Mars (Francis’ granddaughter – daughter of Sophia Coppola), Adam Driver, Kathryn Hunter, Laurence Fishburne, Chloe Fineman, Nathalie Emanuel and Talia Shire (FFC’s sister). Recap of red carpet (in French – the English commentator was extremely annoying and none of the mentioned Grace anyway), in English (if you can endure it)

Encounters on the red carpet

D.B. Sweeney (who plays commissioner Stanley Hart) was very helpful accompanying Grace up the stairs with her long dress and veil. Grace appeared to hit it off with Romy Mars (they are the same age). And Grace was helpful in explain to 85-year-old John Voight about what would be happening after the screening (cars would pick them up and take them to a dinner, hosted by Channel - or "soirée" as Channel calls it). After the screening, during the standing ovation, FCC went down the line of the cast thanking each of them. When he got to Grace, he appeared to have forgotten her name – and called her “my Vesta”. Video of events at the theatre after the screening (In English)

The audience

The picture (stitched together from two screenshots from the video) shows the theater at the time of the standing ovations before the screening, when the stars were arriving at their seats.

The dress

At the screening Grace wore a dress from the Cinema collection by the Greek fashion- and luxury interior designer Panos Zinas, crowned with a a custom-made veil by Brooklyn based “NK Bride”. The whole thing was styled by the owner of Grace’s go-to vintage store, Janelle Best at Desert Stars Vintage.

In an interview with L'Oficielle USA (published in their Magazine on November 2024), Grace explained why she had gone for a dress like that: I think a lot of people are getting bored. And it's not beneficial to individual artists anymore to wear something boring. They want a stylist who can collaborate on a vision and pull anything to manifest it. We didn't have time to work with a stylist. It was so last-minute, but I knew that I wanted to do this virginal goddess look. I was talked into that dress, and then the veil was custom and came from NK Bride. Sometimes with Janelle [Best, owner of Desert Stars Vintage) you wonder if she's in over her head, but somehow, she never is. I think it's the happiest I've been with a look in my entire life. NK Bride posted a couple of short videos to Instagram, showing how the owner Nathalie Kraynina and her hair-accessory designer Ash Martin worked creating the veil Video 1, Video 2Later, they posted a longer piece on the dress on their blog

Grace’s dress made quite an impression in the reporting from the red carpets in Cannes:

Business insider had Grace among the best looks at the festival with the headline: ”Grace VanderWaal looked like a princess at the "Megalopolis" screening on Thursday.”

Red Carpet Fashion Awards also loved Graces’ look: “Grace’s vintage Cinema By Panos Zinas nude tulle wispy, intricate gown looked nothing short of angelic. Styled with a custom NK Bride veil, some might say this took the look down a bridal path, but I feel like the veil adds a lot to the whimsical nature of the look. Without the veil, you don’t get the enchanting story, or the fairy tale fantasy.

Celebrity gossip site US Weekly: “Vanderwaal, 20, for her part, looked like a goddess in a sheer frock equipped with gold and fiery sequins. She accessorized with a tulle veil draped over her head and dainty rings. For glam, she sported soft makeup including bronzy eyeshadow and nude lips. Her honey blonde tresses were slicked-back in an updo.”

Fashion and Beauty site Byrdie.com: ”Singer-songwriter and actress Grace Vander'Waal-who plays Vesta Sweetwater in Megalopolis-served timeless riviera glamour in this vintage sheer Cinema by Panos Zinas look, featuring intricate splotches of gold and red sequins and topped off with a lace-trimmed veil.”

Indian celebrity gossip site Filmibeat: “The sheet dress made her look like Greek goddess. The golden and red color texture on Panos Zinas' designed dress was a true example of subtle art mixed with sexy vibe.”