Natalie Portman dazzles in a Dior gown recreation at Cannes

Natalie Portman made her triumphant return to the Cannes Film Festival this weekend and turned back time by more than half a century.

The Oscar-winning actress showed up to the world premiere of her film ‘May December’ wearing a strapless dress that featured a white bodice and an ornate, scalloped skirt studded with midnight blue beads.

True to form, Portman looked effortlessly chic, with many fashion outlets proclaiming her dress to be one of the best at the French film festival. But it was actually a modern reimagining of a Christian Dior dress created 74 years ago.

Current Dior artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri was inspired by “Junon”, which first appeared as part of the fashion house’s fall/winter collection in 1949. The original dress bears the name of Juno, the Roman goddess whose Greek counterpart is Hera.

It is owned by the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, although it is not currently on display for visitors. The Met considers “Junon” and another dress created the same year, “Venus”, to be the “most coveted” of Dior’s creations.

“The gorgeous skirt of shaded petals, like abstractions of peacock feathers without their ‘eyes,’ obliquely refers to the bird associated with the Queen of the Olympians,” the institute’s website reads.

Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time the iconic design was referenced in modern fashion.

Last winter, designer Kim Jones created sleeveless men’s top for Dior which featured similar layers and beads. Miley Cyrus’ 2009 Oscars look, designed by Zuhair Murad, also bore a striking resemblance.

While Portman’s jaw-dropping style is buzzing, his latest performance may prove even more indelible.

“May December,” directed by Todd Haynes, stars Portman as Elizabeth Berry, a Hollywood actor who will star in a true crime drama about a 36-year-old woman who becomes a tabloid sensation after being caught on a train. to have an affair with a 13-year-old.

To prepare for the role, Elizabeth visits the woman at the center of the decades-old affair, Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore), who hopes the film will shine a light on her story after years of criticism.

The film, which appears to be based on the real-life case of Mary Kay Letourneau, received an eight-minute standing ovation when it premiered and garnered critical acclaim.

“You can not, can’t do better than having Portman and Moore front and center with juicy roles like these,” Deadline wrote. “Watching their game of cat and mouse again confirms that these two Oscar winners are as good as they come.”