Charlotte Gainsbourg's best tights looks: from sheer black in Rome to polka dots in Cannes
A lace skirt and the sheerest black tights in Saint Laurent at the Rome Film Festival, polka dots in Cannes, sheer black at Vaccarello's shows: Charlotte Gainsbourg's best tights looks.
On Saturday 24 October 2026, at the Rome Film Festival, Charlotte Gainsbourg arrived on the red carpet for Riverrun, Philippe Parreno's film in which she stars with Vicky Krieps, in a black lace skirt, a camel bomber jacket and, underneath, black tights so sheer they read as a shadow. On Sky TG24, Vittoria Romagnuolo gave her an 8 for the lace skirt, "collant velatissimi", the sheerest tights, with towering sandals, and the touch of orange on the clutch and the sporty jacket. The look is Saint Laurent; the tights are not credited.
It is not a one-off. Since becoming one of the faces of Anthony Vaccarello's Saint Laurent, Charlotte Gainsbourg has worn tights to festivals and shows with rare consistency: almost always black, almost always sheer, sometimes polka-dotted. We went back through her best tights looks, from 2019 to Rome, with how to copy each one.
A note on sources: where we quote a publication, the description is theirs. Colour and denier, when nobody states them, are our reading of the Getty photos.
Rome 2026: black lace and barely-there tights
In Ernesto Ruscio's photos for Getty the look is easy to read: a black lace pencil skirt just below the knee, a camel bomber open over a dark top, an orange satin clutch held like a book, and black sandals with fine straps. The tights are as sheer as tights get: the skin shows almost entirely, and the black only registers at the ankles and through the lace. In our reading, around 10 denier.
It is the formula we described in our piece on sheer black tights coming back: sheer black and a slim shoe, here with a sporty piece on top to take the solemnity out of it. At the same festival, Benedetta Porcaroli went for grey.
A long story with Saint Laurent
Charlotte Gainsbourg has sat front row at Saint Laurent since Vaccarello's debut: as early as September 2017 Dazed wrote that, working with him, "she has become a face of the brand". Sheer black tights with a pointed shoe are one of the house signatures under Vaccarello, and she may be the person who wears them most naturally: the way other actresses put on a pair of jeans.
Her best tights looks
Cannes 2019: polka dots for Lux Æterna
On 18 May 2019 she was in Cannes for Lux Æterna, Gaspar Noé's medium-length film produced by Saint Laurent, with Vaccarello among the producers, in which she stars with Béatrice Dalle. Paris Match recalled the look five years later: "chemisier noir transparent, mini short en cuir et collants à pois", a sheer black blouse, leather mini shorts and polka-dot tights. In the photos the dots are small and dense on a sheer black base, with pointed black pumps. It is the most playful look on the list, and the easiest to copy: a tiny dot on a sheer ground stays discreet. More ideas in our piece on polka-dot tights.
Cannes 2024: see-through lace over sheer black
For the premiere of Jacques Audiard's Emilia Pérez on 18 May 2024 she climbed the Palais steps beside Vaccarello in, as Paris Match put it, "une mini robe de dentelle noire transparente, portée sur un shorty", a see-through black lace mini dress over a shorty, with pointed pumps trimmed with a rhinestone chain and Ray-Ban Wayfarers. Paris Match does not mention hosiery, but in the photos her legs are veiled in black down to the shoes: lace on top, sheer underneath, all in the same black.
Paris, September 2025: trench and satin shorts
At the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2026 show on 29 September 2025, Pascal Le Segretain's photos show her in a camel trench open over a bow blouse and dark green satin shorts, with sheer black tights and ankle-strap sandals. It is the most Parisian way to wear shorts in autumn: the sheer black lengthens the leg and ties the trench and the satin together.
Paris, March 2026: black trench and white pumps
Six months later, on 3 March 2026, at the Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show, she changed colour but not formula: a glossy black trench, white shirt cuffs peeking from the sleeves, sheer black tights and pointed white pumps. A pale shoe over dark tights is the detail you do not expect, and it works because it is the only point of light below the knee.
Cannes 2026: two looks, two days
At the Cannes Film Festival in May she wore tights two nights running. On 18 May, at the screening of Cristian Mungiu's Fjord, she chose, according to Le Tribunal du Net, an outfit from Saint Laurent's Spring/Summer 2025 show: a structured brocade jacket, a mustard top and a lace-trimmed mini skirt. Underneath, in the photos, sheer black tights and black strappy sandals.
The next day, at the photocall for L'affaire Marie-Claire, she wore a Saint Laurent by Vaccarello outfit with rib-knit mini shorts matched to the jacket and smooth leather boots stopping just below the knee; Elle noted that "des collants fins", fine tights, gave the silhouette a "dimension graphique". Proof that sheer tights work in daylight too, with a boot.
How to copy her
- The sheerest black for evening. In Rome the tights barely show: for the same effect, go for around 10 denier with a slim sandal. Our denier guide explains where the skin stops showing.
- Sheer black with trenches and shorts. For her show looks, 15 to 20 denier: a crisper black that holds its own against a trench or a structured jacket.
- A sporty piece over the lace. A bomber, a trench, a man's jacket: her trick is never to dress for a gala from head to toe.
- One small print. The Cannes 2019 dots are tiny and on a sheer ground: they stay elegant even with a see-through blouse.
- A pale shoe is allowed. With black tights, a white or nude pump becomes the point of the look, not a mistake.
None of her tights are credited: the box lists similar pairs we chose ourselves, with prices read on the brands' sites on 28 October 2026 (Wolford Individual 10 at $60, Oroblù Veil Dots 30 at €16.50).
The photos
The images on this page are official Getty Images embeds with their credits; they stay on Getty's servers. Descriptions of the tights are our reading of the photos unless a source is quoted. The photo in the cover circle is by Harald Krichel (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0), taken at the 2022 Berlinale.
Frequently asked questions
What tights did Charlotte Gainsbourg wear at the Rome Film Festival?
Barely-there sheer black tights, with a black lace pencil skirt, black strappy sandals, a camel bomber jacket and an orange clutch, at the Riverrun screening on 24 October 2026. Sky TG24 credits the look to Saint Laurent; the tights were not credited. In the Getty photos the skin shows almost completely: in our reading, around 10 denier.
Why does Charlotte Gainsbourg wear so much Saint Laurent?
Since Anthony Vaccarello became creative director in 2016 she has been one of the faces of the house: Dazed was already saying so in September 2017. She sits front row at the shows and wears Saint Laurent to festivals, from Cannes to Rome. Sheer black tights with a pointed shoe are a Vaccarello signature, and the tights she wears most often.
What denier to copy Charlotte Gainsbourg's tights?
For the Rome look, as sheer as possible: 8 to 10 denier, with the skin showing. For the trench-and-shorts looks, 15 to 20 denier, a crisper sheer black. The full scale is in our denier guide.
