By Leah Dolan, CNN

(CNN) — The Cannes red carpet is officially in full swing, with stars flocking to the French Riviera for the annual Film Festival. Now in its 78th year, the event is a jewel in the calendar of both lofty cinephiles and polished fashionistas. Since last week, actors, directors, producers and influencers have been ascending the carpeted steps — not just to promote their latest feature film at the high temple of world cinema, but also to turn a look.

This year, the fashion stakes were upped before the festival even opened its doors — prompted by a change in the official dress code, announced just hours before kick-off. Nudity was explicitly banned (also prohibiting the current celebrity favorite ‘naked’ dress trend that has dominated the red carpet in recent years); as were “voluminous outfits” with large trains for the sake of traffic control.

Some stars, like Halle Berry, dutifully obeyed the restrictions. “I had an amazing dress by (Gaurav) Gupta that I cannot wear tonight because it’s too big of a train,” the actor said at a news conference. “I’m not going to break the rules.” Others brazenly persevered with their original wardrobe plans. Heidi Klum and Wan QianHui were the first rebels of the year, arriving in high-octane frocks with defiantly cascading trains.

Elsewhere at the festival, there were clever twists on tailoring, a strong case for the male thigh-high boot and dresses made from reconstructed denim.

Scroll down for the sartorial highlights, which will be updated throughout the festival.

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