Anastasia Andrushkevich revives Diana’s timeless Cannes glamour

Anastasia Andrushkevich did not just borrow a dress; she borrowed a signal. At the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Fjord, the French-Russian actress stepped out in an ice-blue chiffon gown with a matching stole, a soft bob and restrained makeup, and the effect was less retro homage than a reminder of how Princess Diana still codes aristocratic ease better than almost anyone in fashion history.

The look traced directly back to May 15, 1987, when Diana arrived at a Gala night in honour of Sir Alec Guinness in Cannes wearing a pale blue silk chiffon strapless dress with a matching chiffon stole designed by Catherine Walker. That original gown worked because it balanced delicacy with control: the fabric was fluid, the neckline was clean, and the entire silhouette suggested composure rather than performance. Decades later, that same formula still reads as expensive in the most old-money way possible. It is not loud, not embellished, not desperate for attention. It is the visual shorthand for a woman who does not need to prove she belongs.

Andrushkevich’s version understood that instinct. The soft bob and pared-back beauty look mattered as much as the gown itself, because Diana’s power has never been about costume alone. It has always been about restraint. In 2026, when decorative maximalism can feel more culturally dominant than stealth wealth, the return to Diana says something sharper than nostalgia: polished understatement still carries authority, and inherited elegance still has market value on the red carpet. Celebrities keep reaching for her archive because it offers a different kind of glamour, one that feels chosen rather than chased.

Diana’s Cannes wardrobe also matters because the 1987 appearance was part of a broader, heavily discussed festival moment. She wore two dresses to Cannes that year, including a second navy-and-white striped Catherine Walker puffball dress, but it is the pale blue chiffon gown that has endured as the clearer template. Historic Royal Palaces has kept that legacy active at Kensington Palace, where original fashion sketches and exhibition displays trace her relationship with her designers, including Catherine Walker. The message is unmistakable: Diana’s style survives because it still defines what royal evening glamour looks like when it is stripped of noise and left with pure, confident line.