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Of all the places you’d expect to see a woman walking barefoot, the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival is probably not one of them. And yet, this has become a somewhat regular occurrence at the annual shindig, where A-list actors, models and directors gather in their finest gladrags. Sure, the festival is ostensibly about celebrating the best of cinema. But it has also become one of the most significant events in the fashion calendar, with stars taking the opportunity to make both sartorial and political statements. However, out of all the trends that have prevailed, from cutout gowns to sheer sequins, the one that continually seems to trump them all is none other than women’s feet. And it’s already made headlines again this year, thanks to the likes of Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lawrence and Isabelle Huppert, all of whom have made their own subtle nods to the political powers of their own feet. Traditionally, the Cannes dress code is rather strict: in 2015, a group of women in their fifties were reportedly turned away from a screening because they were wearing “rhinestone flats” instead of high heels. The story immediately prompted a backlash and accusations of sexism, with the festival’s director, Thierry Frémaux, denying that heels are mandatory: “The rumour saying the festival insists on high heels for women on the red carpet is unfounded,” he wrote in response to critics on Twitter. Nonetheless, female actors were quick to respond, with Emily Blunt saying at the time: “Everyone should wear flats, to be honest. We shouldn’t wear high heels.” The following year, Julia Roberts and Sasha Lane attended Cannes events barefoot. “The carpet was for our film and I was dressed in a very elegant gown and there’s a ton of stairs, and I’m walking around all day… so I will go barefoot,” Lane said in a later interview. “Why is anyone against that? I’m still here and well-dressed.” Lane’s comments were also echoed by Kristen Stewart, who once said of strict female dress codes: “I feel like you can’t ask people that anymore. If you’re not asking guys to wear heels and a dress, you cannot ask me either.” The Twilight star famously took off her sky-high Christian Louboutin heels on the red carpet at Cannes in 2018, proceeding to walk the rest of the carpet barefoot. Official rule or not, there’s no mistaking that even now, in 2023, the pressures placed on women at black tie events such as Cannes are different to those placed on men. Sartorial convention has long defined occasionwear as anything that leaves your feet uncomfortable. Whether it’s a pump, sandal, or stiletto, the shoe needs to add some sort of height to your look in order to be considered formal and appropriate. It might seem like a small imposition, but if there’s anything this year’s red carpet has taught us, it’s that it can serve as a microcosm of much wider inequalities. Take Cate Blanchett, who last weekend at a Cannes party presented an award to the French-Iranian star Zahra Amir Ebrahimi. “I am going to take my heels off, in honour of the women of Iran,” she told the crowd, before holding up Ebrahimi’s pointed trophy to joke: “This is to stab everyone who stands in the way of women’s rights. Up the vajayjay!” The sentiment has also been referenced by Portman, Lawrence and Huppert at this year’s festival. On Saturday, while talking about her new film May December, Portman spoke about the idea of “performing femininity”, telling attendees that it’s something she’s “very curious about”. “The different ways that we as women are expected to behave – at this festival, even – compared to men,” she said. “How we’re supposed to look, how we’re supposed to carry ourselves.” Meanwhile, Lawrence arrived on the red carpet for the Bread and Roses premiere in a scarlet Dior gown paired with flip-flops. And as for Huppert, a perennial style maven at Cannes and beyond, she made a subtle nod to the shoe-less protests in a pair of Balenciaga heels that had been specially designed to resemble a bare foot. All this serves as a reminder that despite societal progressions, women’s bodies are still firmly policed in the public eye. If it’s not via their footwear, it’s via their actual outfits. Think supermodel Irina Shayk, whose outfits at Cannes events this year include a leather two-piece by Mowalola that exposed her entire torso, and a sheer black dress worn over a matching set of Gucci underwear. Elsewhere, we’ve seen Julia Fox don a completely see-through bodice with a white flowing skirt, while Naomi Campbell walked the red carpet in a scarlet gown with cutouts across her chest. Showing skin is nothing new among the fashion set, particularly given the resurgence of Y2K trends on the runways that continues to maintain its stronghold on the industry. (There has been talk of “naked dresses” for several seasons now, with influencers and stars all partaking in the art of wearing sheer gowns to formal affairs.) But bringing it to Cannes feels particularly poignant and in keeping with the barefoot brouhaha when you consider just how easily offended people are by such ensembles. The body-shaming prompted by Florence Pugh’s see-through Valentino frock last summer is just one example that springs to mind. Flashing a foot is, of course, somewhat different to flashing a nipple, but fundamentally the underlying message is the same. It’s about subverting the social conventions that oppress us. It’s about showing the world that women are fed up of being told what is and is not an acceptable way of presenting their bodies. And it’s about asking why we should still conform to dress codes informed by sexism when, as Blanchett pointed out, women’s rights continue to be subjugated around the world. With all this in mind, we’re not asking for much. The least people can allow us is to take off our heels or flash a little flesh without it having to be headline news. Read More Subversive? Dangerous? 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An age-old argument, without any definitive answer: when do you let your best player go if the rest of the team needs serious improvement? Is it at the point of emotional guilt-tripping, or when the finances make most sense? Is it when the individual starts creating negativity around the dressing room? Or is it in fact not at all – you keep the top performers and that’s the end of it? Daniel Levy, chairperson at Spurs, has been placed in this position before, but perhaps not when Tottenham have been in such a period of weakness and at such a moment of crossroads. When Luka Modric departed in 2012, Spurs had finished fourth and reached the FA Cup semi-final. A year later when Gareth Bale made his exit, Spurs finished one place further back in the Premier League but actually earned three points more than the campaign previous. The rebuild money across those two summers was perhaps spent in mixed fashion, but it was at a time Tottenham were trying to crack into the top clubs on a regular basis. This time, it’s Harry Kane who looks set for a departure, with Bayern Munich offering up an initial bid – big money, but perhaps not quite big enough just yet – for the striker who has only one year remaining on his contract. Kane has been better, more important, more consistent and longer-serving for Tottenham than either of the two aforementioned stars, or indeed any others they’ve had of late. Yet the club also finished eighth last season, their worst league placing in 14 years, and it’s time for both Kane to move on and Spurs to move on without him. It is not for any reason so crass or emotive or frankly ludicrous as “they owe him”. Spurs do not owe Kane anything. He has been excellent for them, and they have given him the platform to be so. But he clearly has kept his level when the club has lost its own, starting at the most uppermost points of the hierarchy downwards. Kane should be seeking a move for his own prospects, for his own ability to win trophies and his own capacity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the greatest centre-forwards of this generation. At Bayern in particular, he’ll very much have the opportunity to do that. Of course, the flip side of the player-based argument is twofold: winning silverware at Spurs might mean more, and so too might claiming the Premier League goalscoring record. Only Kane himself can answer those two factors truthfully, but even if he were to head to the Bundesliga to rack up three or four titles now, there’s very little to suggest his playmaking and goalscoring prowess would have deserted him by the time he turns 33 or 34. A comeback to Spurs once they’ve rebuilt and he’s filled his boots elsewhere? Don’t rule it out. A move abroad is also a risk of its own kind, between adaptation to culture and club, especially in a Euros season. But Gareth Southgate isn’t likely to be leaving out his captain any time soon even if form does desert him – let alone the question of whether there’s even an alternative candidate. And so the decision heads once more to Levy, in charge yet again of overseeing transfers after Fabio Paratici’s enforced exit, and tasked with coming up with a price he finds acceptable for a player the fans value above all others, yet will otherwise surely lose for free in a year. To be blunt, Spurs cannot afford the kind of bluster and brinkmanship Levy has shown before with a far stronger hand. The team needs investment. The team might need outright reshaping, given Ange Postecoglou is almost as far removed from Antonio Conte tactically as he is by way of club interim appointments. Without any kind of European football this coming campaign, Spurs have the chance to make the most of the Australian’s excellent coaching capacity on the training pitch with the additional time between matches the schedule will afford him, so to maximise a season on the fringes they should also be seeking to build the group of players which will benefit him most. While Kane the player is irreplaceable, Spurs can provide Postecoglou with a group to more than make up for what they lose through his sale, if the proceeds are reinvested well and existing players nurtured. Richarlison is the most obvious example, especially as the potential replacement No 9, but Dejan Kulusevski has so much more to give too. Spurs don’t need to gut the building entirely, but they certainly need a better structure than they had last season. Selling Kane is a hard choice, but the right one for the club to move into a new phase of more normalised expectations with long-term prospects for improvement – and the right one for the striker to prove himself on a whole new level, too. Read More Man City ‘to submit improved offer’ for Declan Rice after Arsenal bid Tottenham standing firm on Harry Kane amid interest from Bayern Munich Football rumours: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain weighs up Saudi Arabia move Osimhen and five Man United transfer alternatives to signing Kane Football rumours: Manchester United make last-gasp attempt to sign Harry Kane Range of armband options for Women’s World Cup as FIFA aims to avoid repeat row

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