https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/kristen-stewart-cannes-heels-protest-sexist/
“The annual festival is notorious for its strict dress code — women are required to wear high heels on the red carpet — which many have criticized as sexist. Festival organizers caught flak for their “no flats” rule in 2015 after turning away a group of women, some reportedly with medical conditions, because of their footwear.”
Well, her reasoning is specious. I mean, he’s not wearing a dress either. Or a bra. Or any number of female items.
That said, I’m not sure why it matters what heel height the shoes are in the first place. The point is to be dressed up, it appears. Dress shoes can be flats, as every tall woman (or woman with foot or knee issues) knows. If the point of the rule is to honor the dress code, one can do that without wearing high heels.
I don’t find that reasoning specious at all. Bottom line, dress codes should not be defined by gender.
Not only is the high heel thing sexist, it is ableist as well.
I haven’t worn heels for at least 20 years. Good thing I’m not going to Cannes. 
There’s a reason fashionistas who are “religious” about it (forcing others to conform to their views rather than just enjoying them themselves) irritate me.
I stay away from everything with such strict rules. Dressing up is one thing. Setting a ridiculous uniform (aka high heels - known health problems for people) - or forcing all to abide by it - is crazy.
Dress Codes are defined by gender. That’s a given. Well, it used to be anyway. You don’t show up at your prom or wedding in sweats and a T shirt.
That said, even the strictest dress code is not violated by variant heights of heels on dress shoes. That is my point.
https://m.festival-cannes.com/en/infos-communiques/info/articles/dress-code-required
http://www.tll.co.il/?lang=en&category=220
I see nothing wrong with enforcing a dress code. It is a “by invitation” event, if you don’t like it; don’t attend.
To stage a mini protest by removing your shoes at you host’s formal event is in bad taste and rude. If you feel you are unable to participate in the event as requested due to some condition, moral code or political bent or feel it is sexist/elitists/ableist etc., why not speak with the host before hand and arrive at a suitable compromise?
There are no specific rules about what is to be worn as appropriate footwear at Cannes (or so they say), just societal norms regarding formalwear. It is a slippery slope, IMO, if they budge on the heels, next year someone will say they don’t won’t to wear a tie, it’s sexist, and so on and so on and eventually the formal dress event it lost. Where do you draw the line if you want to maintain the formal dress code? What constitutes formal dress in a gender neutral world?
Unfortunately I am not sure I am buying Kristen Stewart being a crusader as much as I see a publicity stunt; similar to Madonna in the Jean Paul Gaultier get up back in the 90’s.
Good thing my Cannes invites habitually get lost in the mail, as I physically cannot bend my arthritic toes into high heeled shoes.
" why not speak with the host before hand and arrive at a suitable compromise?"
You really think the Cannes organizers and powers that be don’t know people have issues with it? People have had issues with it and have protested it in the past. This isn’t a new thing.
https://www.refinery29.com/2018/05/199229/kristen-stewart-shoes-off-cannes-red-carpet-protest
“Except the festival has done more than “get upset:” In 2015, several women were turned away for wearing flats to the premiere of Carol. Stewart wasn’t the only actress to call out “flatgate,” as it was then referred, either: Emily Blunt openly criticized the rule, while Julia Roberts chose to go barefoot at the 2016 festival as a subtle act of rebellion.”
When you’re denied entry for flat shoes, that is a dress code:
https://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/cannes-women-denied-palais-entry-for-wearing-flats/5088395.article
"Multiple guests, some older with medical conditions, were denied access to the anticipated world-premiere screening for wearing rhinestone flats.
The festival declined to comment on the matter, but did confirm that it is obligatory for all women to wear high-heels to red-carpet screenings."
No slippery slope, IMO. There are plenty of formal, black tie events of the sort and people still dress appropriately.
But that’s not a gender thing. Some girls have gone to the prom in tuxedos. (Which I think is great, btw.)
“I see nothing wrong with enforcing a dress code. It is a “by invitation” event, if you don’t like it; don’t attend.”
That logic would apply if this were purely a social event. It is not. It is a business event that is essential for professionals in the industry. Contracts require actors and directors to do promotional work at this festival and other venues. The real power in the business – the studios – should insist on gender parity in the dress code.
Back in 2015 Cannes actually said it is obligatory to wear “formal wear” on “the stairs”. Cannes has said nothing about Stewart taking off her shoes or wearing flat shoes this year, no one has banned her from the event and from what I can tell no one has been banned this year because of flat shoes and, in fact, Cannes has let other women in to premiere screenings who are wearing flats.
https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/marion-cotillard-wore-flats-on-the-cannes-red-carpet.html
So, not exactly sure what the big deal is here, other than Kristen Stewart looking for some publicity.
Back in 2015:
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32809200
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32792772
There is no ban on “flat shoes”. As you can find instances of women who wore flat shoes before and after the 2015 “flat gate”. Notably Elizabeth Olsen (2011), Kirsten Dunst, Charlize Theron, Kate Blanchett, Susan Sarandon to name a few. Julia Roberts went shoeless in 2016.
https://nypost.com/2015/05/19/cannes-no-flats-policy-is-totally-sexist/
Yes, some women MAY have been called out in 2015 (although that has never been proven they were “turned away”) most (all if my limited research is accurate) were eventually allowed in to the screening. There definitely have been some overzealous ushers, so it appears it really depends on who sees it and who you are. Definitely some inconsistently applied quidelines.
@Hanna Photographer, Francois Goize, has been been on the wrong end of the Cannes dress code as a man… “I remember my first Cannes Festival in 1986,” he revealed “I only had one ticket, for a Fellini film, but I didn’t know the score so arrived wearing a regular suit jacket. They didn’t let me in because I didn’t have a bowtie.”. They aren’t singling out women. Oh and they banned red carpet selfies too? So Cannes apparently doesn’t like narcissists too!
BTW Kristen Stewart is notorious for swapping out her heels for tennis shoes on the red carpet. So it might say more about her caving to societal pressure to wear hears in the first place, rather than just choosing to wearing flats. The fact is @doschicos I don’t disagree with you, sexism exists, in spades, particularly in Hollywood. I am more concerned about girls being told they can’t bare their shoulders in HS because it is “distracting” than I am about a movie star wearing heels at a clearly stated formal event.
I’m female. I’ve never worn real heels. Hate them. Now, I physically can’t wear them.
If people are getting removed for wearing flats, that IS a dress code. It’s a ridiculous, outdated, sexist dress code.
Formal? Fine. Demanding heels? Not fine.
No one is currently being banned because of flats shoes.
My invitation to Cannes got lost in the mail this year, so I have no way to verify whose facts are correct. That said, “jackets and men and heels on women” would be an asymmetrical requirement.
Just as an FYI, skiparents’ invitation was not lost in the mail, and I can confirm that the invitation reads black tie with no mention of heels. Must have been a slow news day in France. 
The entire fashion industry is sexist. Ever watched Project Runway or looked at the pretty pictures in Vogue? The idea of binding, strapping, corseting, platforming, face painting, hair spraying, shaving, polishing, plucking, stiletto heeling, spandex ensnaring, underwire binding women is considered the norm. It is ‘fashion’.
The problem isn’t Cannes. The problem is every time one of us thinks they need to be uncomfortable in what they wear in order to conform to some expectation.
And frankly, most of my (cis and non-cis) gender (or gender identifying) humanoids engage in this behavior on a regular basis.
I still feel great sadness that because of my knees I can no longer wear high heels. I was at a wedding recently and most of the other women were wearing adorable heels and I had crummy flats on. I wouldn’t even dance. I loved the way I looked and felt in heels until I couldn’t physically wear them any longer. My knee issues are related to rheumatoid arthritis, not the wearing of heels. That said, I don’t think that women should feel compelled to wear heels. There are flats that are dress code appropriate…
I suspect that any man who has felt confined, stifled and over heated in a jacket or strangled by a tie, might disagree.
Women only “look better in high heels” because we have been trained to perceive them that way.
From my (male) perspective, high heels are silly and oppressive.