How Alexa Chung Gets Red Carpet Ready

So far, we've just had delicious pesto linguini.

I am lucky enough to get to go to see a film,

it is called Emilia Perez.

It's quite long, so I thought I'd carb up

before I go to this red carpet and subsequent film,

because otherwise last year,

I saw Killers of the Flower Moon,

spoiler alert, it's over three hours long,

and I nearly passed away 'cause I was so hungry.

[melodious music]

So it takes a lot of people to get me ready.

I have George Northwood who's on the ones and twos,

AKA the hair.

Cuts to George Northwood.

[melodious music]

Okay, today I'm wearing Jean Paul Gautier by Simone Roche.

It comes with this kind of iconic Madonna-esque

conical corset area,

and I think Simone Roche is a genius,

so I'm very happy to wear anything she does.

And then I'm matching with it, some Boucheron jewels.

So I'm still deciding the jewels actually. You can help me.

These are the stripper shoes by the way,

but they're quite heavy.

So, A, I don't think you'd be able to get

up and down a pole,

and B, I think I might change the shoes

that I don't fall over on the red carpet,

because that just feels like,

if I've avoided doing that so far,

I'd quite like to continue the trend of not tripping over.

So yeah, this is what I was doing earlier,

to try and imagine what it's gonna look like.

[melodious music]

Okay, so firstly,

these are the most beautiful jewels of all time,

and this amethyst ring is a 100% yes,

so that's like locked in.

So I've got these kind of studded cool dudes. And...

Have I already got one in? No.

And then I'm gonna pick other rings.

So I think this one's really gorge. Komsa.

And maybe a little serpent one.

Glam wise, we are nearly done.

I really like to just look like myself,

and I'd love to be someone that was really experimental

with hair and makeup, and was like doing like crazy looks,

but I'm just...

I just feel unnatural like that.

I'm gonna be really real with you right now,

Ivan's doing my makeup and I showed him earlier,

a picture of Kylie Jenner and was like, Maybe this for me?

Because I thought she just looked really...

These were nice colors. Look.

She's beautiful, and she had like,

sort of like a nineties kind of soft matte...

You're probably better explaining it. That's it?

[Juan Gomez] You are the best.

Nineties soft matte. Foxy eyes.

[Juan] Foxy matte.

We talk about foxy eyes a lot.

I kind of want a tawny brown carameley lip,

so that it's quite subdued, and strong, and handsome

with something that's, you know, quite an event, the outfit.

[energetic music]

Yeah, I think it can be quite intimidating

to get your picture taken on the red carpet,

and I always worry that my pose ends up so weird

because I'm like nervous,

and so I end up reverting back to being like,

nine years old.

And I used to have like this drama teacher

in primary school and she'd be like,

Shoulders back, stand up straight, arms by your side,

and that sort of comes into my head

as I'm stood in front of a bank of a wall of photographers.

When I look at everyone else's pictures,

and again, I was like kind of casually

going through a Met Gala gallery this morning,

so I was like, how do people pose?

And they're all like...

Things that look embarrassing in real life to do,

but actually in the picture, look amazing.

But I like, can't bring myself

to be that major on the carpet in real...

It's just too humiliating.

So I'll probably just stand straight up and down, I guess.

In terms of a grounding essence or vibe,

I'm like the least grounded person in the world.

Annie de Mamiel is this facialist that I see,

and she has all these beautiful herbal kind of remedies

and skincare things,

and she made me this aromatherapy ointment called Head Fix.

Rather insultingly she's written on it,

Lab sample to fix Alexa's head,

and I didn't realize it was broken, so...

Sniff it in, and it's delightful.

[melodious music]

And kind of calms you down.

It's also quite insulting if you see me do it,

'cause it means that you're stressing me out.

If you do see me doing this near you on a tube in London,

your vibe's weird.

Really weird.

So sometimes, I have like a bit of a spiral.

In fact last year I think I was like,

Wait, this is scary.

But then I was next to Carla Bruni,

and she was so nice and cool and she was like,

Ah, you just pose and walk.

The thing about Cannes that I love is

that you know when you read in the newspaper

and they're like, So-and-so this-and-that

got a 30 minute standing ovation,?

It just really continues to be fun

to be in that standing ovation.

So like after the film, if you stand up,

and last year it was like Mr. De Niro, Mr. Scorsese,

like these obviously behemoths of the movie industry,

and so it felt inappropriate to even sit down ever again.

Like, there was a point when I thought

I was gonna clap forever.

I could act and I could come to Cannes with my movie,

but sadly, I'm wooden.

Okay, this is my look.

I'm gonna get dressed, so if you head on out

and then I'll do the big reveal.

[melodious music]

[Stylist] But from here, you're okay?

Yeah, it feels good. I mean, it could go tighter even.

[Stylist] Tight vest. The vest is tight?

[Stylist] Yeah. What about the sides?

Or no, they're just normal like that?

[Stylist] No, no.

I'm being oiled up,

because to look nice on a red carpet,

you have to seem moisturized, happy in your lane.

And then we are fastening the corset, which is delightful.

I'd love to tell you that it feels like, Whew!

You know, like in movies when they're like...

But it's not, it's just actually quite comfortable.

It feels really nice, like being hugged by a very strong,

and beautiful man.

Gorge.

Not looking at yourself and saying gorge. Sorry, but gorge.

Gorge.

That wasn't of me,

that was the outfit and the hair and makeup, you know?

I think it needs another like, kind of sparkler basically.

Now I've gotta work out what red carpet pose, okay? So...

[melodious music]

What I've gotta think is,

You are an adult woman who is wearing jewels in Cannes.

That's my vibe.

And not in a drama class at 10 going...

This is the wafting process, which creates volume and...

What else does it create? Vibes.

It's quite black swan actually, isn't it?

My hands need to be like, ballet rather than like...

Can we have a round of applause for the freckles

that he put back in on my face?

Isn't that clever?

See them?

I'm gonna leave now, and go to this beautiful red carpet

and do try out my new cool poses.

I could do the Victoria Beckham, she always puts one leg out

and goes sideways, doesn't she?

She's that.

[Stylist] Yeah. Let's try Victoria.

[energetic music]