An ode to Kristen Stewart
Last night Kristen Stewart abandoned her Louboutin heels on the Cannes red carpet to go barefoot, reaffirming one of the many reasons I love her. It’s not clear whether the move was a protest against the festival’s regressive no-flats policy or whether she just found that uncomfortably high heels were unconducive with a soggy red carpet (it had been raining all day).
Whatever the reason, the move once again proved Stewart as a true non-conformist. No one’s claiming that Stewart is a modern-day Che Guevara for abandoning her heels, but going barefoot at a festival that believes flats are the work of the devil is worthy of praise. She, true to form, rebelled against what society expects of her. In this case, it’s Cannes’ archaic belief that it’s impossible to look polished unless you’re teetering around in stilettos, trying to ignore the pain that comes from forcing your feet into an unnatural triangle and then walking around on your tip-toes all evening. After all, nothing says chic says immobility and restrained pain.
Stewart does this a lot. I’m not talking just about her dismissiveness of heels (although she is known for ditching them in favour of Converse), but rather her rejection of what is expected of a Hollywood actress. One of the criticisms often thrown at Stewart is that she always looks grumpy as if it’s somehow odd that a famous woman not behave like a lobotomised cheerleader. Would you feel like smiling for the hordes of paparazzi who hound you daily, if you were stood in a borrowed dress and painful heels? Would you really grin as reporters shouted invasive questions about your private life or lumbered you with inane queries about where your dress is from?
Stewart chooses not to fake smile, which is laudable. She’ll smile when something genuinely makes her happy which seems normal enough. The argument why actresses should smile is often to show their gratitude for their fame, but by this standard then men should have to beam like Barbie at all times too. Except they don’t; if a man chooses not to smile on the red carpet, they’re ‘brooding’ or ‘pensive’, as opposed to ‘grumpy’ or ‘ungrateful’. The bitchy resting face issue comes down to the same point – that women are expected to be likeable, friendly and compliant in a way men aren’t. Stewart sticks two fingers up to all that; if you’re upset that she’s not smiling at you it’s your issue, not hers. Do something that makes her laugh and maybe she will.
Stewart’s subversive extends to her wardrobe and the fashion world loves her for this. She makes Chanel tweed look punk; she turns up to fashion shows in ripped jeans and trainers and is one of few Hollywood actresses to have braved that most unforgiving of hairstyles - the buzzcut. She brings a tomboyish nonchalance to everything she wears and always looks herself, whether dressed in a white trouser suit or a floor-length gown. She wears what she likes and plays with clothes – take the oversized Chanel jacket she wore as a dress to the brand’s latest cruise show.
She makes interesting career choices, including strange films about water. Her breakout film Twilight might have put her on a blockbuster path, but her consequent CV has been eclectic. She hasn’t ignored Hollywood franchises, but picks them carefully – Snow White and the Huntsman might not have reinvented the wheel, but it was novel to see the titular role played as a determined warrior who leads a revolution against dark forces. Then there’s her critically-acclaimed left-field films such as Personal Shopper, Clouds of Sils Maria and Camp X-Ray.
That’s not to say she never messes up, lest anyone is ever allowed to forget her indiscretion with Rupert Sanders. Or indeed that she worked with controversial director Woody Allen on Café Society – a decision that she defended in 2016. Whether you agree with that decision or not (I don't), Stewart is used to having to explain herself in a world where women are so often vilified for the offending behaviour of the powerful men around them.
Grumpy, unapologetic and rebellious, Stewart offers a rare pearl of wisdom - that being yourself is always a good idea.
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