At the annual Cannes Film Festival, traditional evening attire and classic tuxedo dressing always prevails—so much so that the 2025 festival dress code was stricter than ever. (This year, that meant no naked dressing or over-the-top voluminous gowns.) Even so, that didn’t mean that top Hollywood stars didn’t have fun with their outfits. Specifically, the men of Cannes embraced whimsical dressing—be it Alexander Skarsgard in thigh-high boots, or Jeremy Strong with his rainbow assortment of pastels. The Mastermind star Josh O’Connor, meanwhile, was another best dressed celebrity: He totally stood out with his individualistic approach to suiting up.
Working with stylist Harry Lambert (who was also behind Skarsgard’s winning Cannes looks), O’Connor took a more eccentric approach to tailoring—with much of his festival wardrobe being custom Prada. “Me and Josh looked through the last Prada show and exchanged some images of runway looks that we loved, and we started building out a moodboard with references and ideas,” says Lambert. “There was quite a bit of mix-and-matching of pieces in the last show, which we loved. We wanted to do mix-and-matched tailoring for Cannes.” It started when the star first touched down in the south of France: O’Connor landed in a green and cream western-style Prada shirt, paired with a cool oversized bowling bag. “We looked at a knitwear from the runway, and there was this cream and green jumper with western detailing. We asked Prada to turn it into a shirt for us,” says Lambert.
For the official The Mastermind premiere, the actor sported a color-blocked Prada suit in shades of plum, blue, and black—punctuated with a pink floral brooch. “They all felt like extremely Prada colors—they were wrong but right, yet they all go together. There was something that felt fresh and easy about it,” says Lambert. For the The Mastermind photo call the next day, O’Connor rocked a more casual look: An elongated Prada overcoat with a floral-print tee and brooch. “We loved the green floral T-shirt—it was very easy and slick, but a little fun,” says Lambert. “It felt very Josh. Josh is a fan of nature: We love a little flower. He really loved the trainers, too.”
For Lambert and the star, the fun of doing Cannes dressing was finding ways to subvert the usual suit-and-tie looks that we see leading Hollywood men wear at the festival. (Lambert admits that the strict dress codes that Cannes demands can take the fun out of red carpet dressing.) The duo totally nailed it, with O’Connor being one of the best-dressed hunks of the week. “With Cannes menswear, there’s always quite a bit of tuxedos and black bow ties. It’s nice to do the red carpet in a way that isn’t so on-the-nose of a traditional men’s look,” says Lambert. “What I love about Josh is he does want to dress up. He loves fashion in his own way; he wants to have fun and is willing to try things. We just wanted something very easy, very him, and very joyful and chic.” Mission accomplished.
