Join us as we take you along the Swedish actor’s unforgettable 2024 Cannes Film Festival day with Dior Beauty
The Cannes Film Festival exudes an unmatched aura. Each year, the French Riviera and the famed steps of the Palais des Festivals come alive with a unique blend of glamour and creativity, pulsating with excitement and anticipation. There, the rich history of cinema meets the magic of contemporary filmmaking, all while bearing witness to some of the greatest fashion moments in time.
“You can feel it as soon as you step onto the red carpet. It’s a very specific energy that’s just historic and timeless,” says Swedish actor Alicia Agneson, who was on-site last week to see the spectacle unfold. “And you just know that all these people have walked on it through so many years, so many movies, and so many different gowns ... the carpet has really seen it all. It’s a privilege and an honour to just get to step down there, step back, and just look at it.”
In town for four days with Dior Beauty, Agneson’s jam-packed Cannes schedule boasted back-to-back events and a red carpet appearance – complete with the classic outfit change in the car. Vogue Scandinavia caught up with the Clark star after her busiest day and the first time Agneson savoured some downtime at the Hotel Martinez. “It was absolutely amazing,” she says, reflecting on her hectic Wednesday. “It must have been at least an 8.00AM start, and I don’t think I finished my last event until past midnight for sure.”
Getting ready with the Dior Beauty glam team. Photo: Jonny Cochrane
Photo: Jonny Cochrane
Photo: Jonny Cochrane
Luckily, she had an arsenal of professionals to lean on, including Swedish stylist Susan Stjernberger and a glam crew courtesy of Dior, responsible for all of Agneson’s enchanting beauty looks throughout the festivities. “Cannes is always incredibly busy, so having a team as superb as Dior behind you to help you get through that is quite lovely,” Agneson says. However, that’s not to say the actor wasn’t heavily involved in conceiving all her looks; she describes it as a “very close” collaboration, especially with Stjernberger, with whom Agneson shares a cherished friendship.
Kicking off her day with a lunch hosted by Vanity Fair, Agneson met up with the Dior beauty team bright and early in the morning. A radiant and dewy face resulted, complementing Agneson’s romantic, ivory ruffled silk frock by the Danish brand Rotate. “For the daytime, we wanted to give this sort of rosy, glowy, and fresh look,” Agneson explains. Her effortlessly tousled bun provided the perfect finishing touch to the sophisticated seaside ensemble.
For her first look of the day, Agneson wore a dress by Rotate, paired with heels by Anny Nord, and accessorised with a Breitling watch and jewellery by Vanbruun. Photo: Getty
After lunch, it was time to get red carpet-ready, for which Dior’s makeup artist Alicia Hosdey began with a blank canvas rather than touching up Agneson’s earlier look. The actor’s makeup for those revered stairs was heavily inspired by her dress: a beige, form-fitting, sleeveless frock dripping with pearls and crystals by Australian designer Vivienna Lorikeet.
It really is the whole experience in Cannes. It’s everything from getting ready in the room, meeting with the glam team, putting in the last hairpin – everything adds up to this amazing experience.
Alicia Agneson
“The goal was to create the perfect graceful goddess look for the red carpet,” explains Hosdey. “The main colors used were brown and gold – something subtle yet powerful.” To achieve a lit-from-within radiance, Hosdey began with the Dior Forever Glow Star Filter Complexion Sublimating Fluid mixed with foundation for added flawlessness. For an extra touch of glamour, Hosdey finished Agneson’s complexion with Dior Forever Glow gold highlighter.
Agneson's second beauty look of the day leaned into golden and brown hues, reflecting her red carpet dress. Photo: Jonny Cochrane
Photo: Jonny Cochrane
To “sculpt and warm up the face,” Hosdey created a blurred brown smokey eye and added a touch of bronzer to Agneson’s cheeks for a sun-kissed luminescence. Tying in the ethereal look, Hosdey opted for a natural lip using Rouge Dior Nude Touch Velvet and a dab of the brand’s popular – and Agneson’s personal favourite – Lip Maximiser lip gloss. On Agneson’s body, Dior Solar Oil was applied to give a glow even Greek goddesses would envy. Finally, to juxtapose the predominantly feminine ensemble, Agneson embraced a ‘wet’ hair look, lending an edgy vibe to her appearance.
“Both me and the Dior team felt like picking out those nude colours and slicking the hair back, which is fun for me because I usually have this bigger hair, curls or the natural big waves and, and now we felt like, ‘You know what? We need to make this a bit edgier and contemporary’, and I loved it,” Agneson says.
Agneson looked beautiful on the red carpet. Photo: Getty
Agneson’s Cannes red carpet experience at the Grand Theatre Lumiere – her second time at the event – was “just fantastic.” For a fleeting moment, she got to soak in all the history and star power the site has accumulated, with the occasional mishap of stepping on dresses and stumbling upon Oscar-winning actors. Then, the moment came for Agneson to head over to her final event of the day, a dinner held at the breathtaking house of Christian Dior himself.
“It was absolutely extraordinary,” Agneson says of the soirée. “And a great honour to get that kind of insight into Christian Dior's house, where he lived, worked and did his drawings and notes, and also stepping out into the garden and seeing all these different flowers and seeing maybe where he got inspiration from and sort of stepping into a lost age. Really remarkable.”
The last look of Agneson's day featured a black lace maxi dress, matching underwear, stilettos, and a 'Mini Vanity' bag, all courtesy of Dior. The finishing touch was the actor's golden jewellery, which perfectly complemented her makeup. Photo: Jonny Cochrane
Photo: Jonny Cochrane
For her last outfit of the day – which Agneson quickly slipped into while en route to Dior's house – the actor wore a stunning, head-to-toe Dior look. The ensemble comprised a sultry black long-sleeved lace maxi dress, which Agneson paired with black underwear, matching stilettos, and a quilted Dior Caro Vanity Case. Layers of dainty gold chains around her neck, coupled with statement earrings, added to the boho-chic look. “We wanted to focus a lot on the jewellery, and to bring that timeless elegance … I felt like a true princess,” Agneson says. Her hair and makeup remained the same as for the red carpet, harmonising with the gilded tones of her accessories.
“It really is the whole experience in Cannes. It’s everything from getting ready in the room, meeting with the glam team, putting in the last hairpin – everything adds up to this amazing experience,” Agneson says as she looks back on her glitzy and eventful day. The next day, she’s heading back to her home, a farm just outside the Swedish city of Eskilstuna. “I’ll strip away all the fancy clothes, go out on walks with my dog, and plant potatoes – I can’t wait,” she laughs.