Charles Finch and Lanvin Host a Chic Dinner at Cannes

As the Cannes Film Festival entered its second week, its stars stayed put. At the legendary Fred d’Ecailler restaurant on the city’s eastern tip, friends and admirers of two of the industry’s most illustrious names – writer-director Paul Schrader and actor-cum-filmmaker Valeria Golino – gathered to celebrate their recent achievements, at an event hosted by Lanvin and film magazine A Rabbit’s Foot.

Charles Finch, A Rabbit’s Foot’s founder and editor-in-chief, called upon a select group of invitees to join them, among them Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, and a slew of legendary directors, including Abel Ferrara, Leos Carax, and Whit Stillman. Lanvin was repped by their slickly dressed CEO, Siddhartha Shukla, who mingled with the crowd.

Chatter on the night revolved, of course, around film; the movies on everyone’s lips, and Jacob Elordi, the co-lead of Schrader’s new film “Oh, Canada”. The film is about a Vietnam War defector, played by Richard Gere, recounting the untold story of his youth on his deathbed. A source close to the film told Vogue that Elordi’s absence at the festival was due to filming commitments in Toronto, where he’s working on Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Frankenstein, but that there was no hard feelings: Schrader and Del Toro are good friends. Meanwhile Finch gave a heartfelt speech for both of the night’s honorees, with Golino expressing her love for Finch and his publication in return.

As the seafood dinner rolled on, the crowd left their tables to talk to each other and drink, and a mariachi band loosened the mood. After the plates had cleared, more faces showed, among them the Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux and Cate Blanchett, who sat with Schrader and his producers David Gonzales and Taylor Jeanne. Though they haven’t worked together, Schrader has previously said he was “in awe” of Blanchett’s talent.

It felt like a natural pairing: Lanvin stepping into cinema by joining forces with A Rabbit’s Foot, a publication with real know-how. It’s the beginning of a new chapter for Lanvin and the perfect place for it: as a few more days of promising films are unveiled, so too is the latest Lanvin boutique, perfectly positioned on the Cannes beachfront Croisette.