Actress Blames This Dress for Her ‘Dramatic’ Fainting Spell at Cannes

Unlike the corseted women of the Victorian era, modern women rarely require fainting couches. Still, one actress says her too-tight outfit led to a “dramatic” dizzy spell at the Cannes Film Festival.

In a new interview with W Magazine, actress Elle Fanning, 27, was asked about her famous fainting incident. The episode occurred at the Chopard Trophy dinner during the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where Fanning, then 21, served as a juror.

“My dress was too tight,” the Sentimental Value star said in the interview, referencing the nude Prada dress she wore to the event. The gown featured a long tulle hem, colorful floral embellishments, and a snug corseted bodice.

“My sister [actress Dakota Fanning] was sitting at another table, and she saw my chair just completely fall back,“ Fanning said. ”It’s kind of hilarious—very dramatic. Colin Firth was there, and he rushed to my side.”

She continued, “It was the talk of the festival. But I’m known to faint. In school, I would faint a lot. I grew, like, seven inches in one year, and I guess my body was growing so much that I got altitude sickness.”

At the time, Fanning posted a thumbs-up selfie on her Instagram. “Oops, had a fainting spell tonight in my 1950s Prada prom dress but it’s all good!” she wrote in the caption, noting via hashtags that her dress was “too tight” and it was “that time of the month.”

Despite the mishap, Fanning told the outlet she does not live with regrets. “That’s just not my style,” she said. She then went on to describe another style mishap, when she got starstruck by a fellow celebrity, and “made a fool” of herself.

Fanning said, “I saw Cardi B, and I was just like, Wow. I got up, but I had huge shoes on, so I toppled over and fell. Cardi B saw this giant woman in her periphery just go down. She looked over and said, ‘Are you okay?’”

Elle magazine described Fanning’s style at the 2019 festival as “fantastic” and credited her stylist, Samantha McMillen, who still styles Fanning today. The star’s more recent outfits, though, are probably looser than her Prada prom dress.