Cannes red carpet: the story behind Bella Hadid's Gucci gown

The white dress was designed by Tom Ford in 1996 and is nearly impossible to find these days

Bella Hadid arrives for the screening of 'Broker' during the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival, wearing a vintage Gucci dress. EPA

Bella Hadid donned a stunning white jersey gown at the screening of Les Bonnes Etoiles (Broker) on Thursday evening, during the ongoing Cannes Film Festival. The body-skimming Gucci dress also featured a hip cut-out with a gold buckle.

And if you're thinking the outfit is a far cry from the recent ensembles designed by Alessandro Michele, you're right. Hadid's dress is from Gucci's autumn 1996 collection, when Tom Ford was the brand's creative director.

Gucci: the Tom Ford years

Gucci was founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci, a one-time porter at The Savoy Hotel in London, as a high-end luggage and riding-wear company. Known for its exceptional quality, the company gained a following among Europe’s well-heeled, including Princess Grace of Monaco. Clothing was added in 1981.

However, by the 1990s, the storied brand had fallen on hard times, the result of family infighting and the murder of Maurizio Gucci, the head of the company. The ensuing chaos led to sales plummeting.

Enter Tom Ford. The American designer was named Gucci's creative director in 1994, and brought on as the women's ready-to-wear designer. In keeping with his high-octane approach, Ford became known for collections that oozed sensuality and glamour.

Celebrities fought over his pieces, and Gucci hit the headlines once more. Deliberately daring advertising campaigns kept the spotlight on the brand, and sales boomed. Ford's provocative collections received wide acclaim, lifting Gucci and making him a design superstar.

But such success invariably has a shelf life, and Ford left the company in 2004 after 10 wildly exciting years.

That white dress

Ford may have moved on (he started his eponymous label in 2006), but the dresses he designed while at Gucci remain highly covetable, more so because such few pieces currently exist in good condition.

The specimen Hadid wore at Cannes was first worn by American model Carolyn Murphy and soon after acquired by vintage dealer Lab2022. Hadid's look was put together by celebrity stylist Law Roach, who started off in the industry as the owner of celebrity-frequented boutique Deliciously Vintage.

Roach’s personal aesthetic is, unsurprisingly, informed by his love for vintage clothing, and while he says he’d do anything to get his hands on Dior from the 1950s, he can’t name his all-time favourite luxury labels as they keep changing, and are interspersed with new and up-and-coming brands. “I don’t have favourite brands; I just love clothes,” Roach told The National.

“People shouldn’t be lazy when it comes to getting dressed. Give it 100 per cent," said Roach. "It’s not about expensive or inexpensive, it’s just about making the right or wrong choices."

Despite Roach's nonchalant attitude to expense, the number Hadid wore at Cannes is considered one of the rarest specimens of Ford-era Gucci dresses — selling for up to $15,000 in vintage communities.