It has a reputation as one of the most glamorous global celebrity events, and it seems organisers of the Cannes Film Festival have no intention of letting standards slip.
At Saturday's red carpet screening of Australian film The Sapphires, tickets stipulated "tuxedo" and "evening dress" and men who thought a neck tie would suffice were wrong.
Even the most suavely attired gentlemen who arrived without the appropriate neck wear were required to cough up 15 euros ($A19.33) for a standard-issue black bow tie before being allowed entry to the famous cinema on the French Riviera.
Australian actor Guy Pearce, who walked the red carpet on Saturday night for the screening of his latest film, Lawless, was confused by the changing dress standards, saying that in past years at the Cannes festival he had appeared on the rouge runway without a tie of any kind.
"I wasn't sure what the story was this year. I wanted to wear an ordinary tie and then somebody said 'no, they've changed the rules, it's all back to bow tie now'," the 44-year-old told AAP.
"And then I turned up and (screen writer) Nick (Cave) and (director) John (Hillcoat) both had ordinary ties on!"
Of course celebrities who chose to flaunt the apparel code were permitted unquestioned entry.
"We're artists," one film director said with a laugh on the red carpet when asked why he was wearing joggers.
