Thandie Newton’s Star Wars dress wins on Solo red carpet at Cannes

Solo may not be up for any prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, but Thandie Newton is winning with what seems to be – at least among geek circles – the most talked-about dress. Her look for the Solo red carpet was a custom Vivienne Westwood with fabric featuring the action figures of the black characters of the franchise. (Newton is the first black woman to have a major role.) The action figures – photographed by Christian Högstedt – are from Newton’s own collection. They’re layered over Westwood’s ‘Absence of Roses’ print. See more photos of the dress at Red Carpet Fashion Awards!

As for the film itself, it received a three-minute standing ovation from the Cannes crowd.

Fashion bloggers Tom & Lorenzo have eben more pictures, and call getting this dress made “just about the most badass nerd move of all time”.

Here’s a sketch of the gown:

For tonight's #StarWars premiere , Thandie had the brilliant idea to make a dress covered in a print with photos of iconic black @starwars characters! She wanted to celebrate her role in the iconic history of the franchise!! She is the first black woman onscreen in a @starwars movie with a leading role 🙌@christianhogstedt photographed the action figures from her personal collection and @viviennewestwood made a SICK print on a gown that's totally ethical given the guidance of @ecoage and @liviafirth… more on this to come, but have a peek at the sketch and up close on the print!!! 🖤🖤🖤

A post shared by Erin Walsh (@erinwalshnyc) on May 15, 2018 at 12:54pm PDT