Great Outfits in Fashion History: Ruth Negga in Marc Jacobs at Cannes in 2016

Stylist Karla Welch recently posted a behind-the-scenes look at her fitting with the actor.

There are perfectly good celebrity style moments, and then there are the looks that really stick with you, the ones you try desperately to recreate at home. In ‘Great Outfits in Fashion History,’ Fashionista editors are revisiting their all-time favorite lewks.

The Cannes Film Festival is always a highlight on the red-carpet calendar because the stars bring their sartorial A-game. The days of photo calls and evenings of premieres have crowned Best-Dressed mainstays, like Kristen Stewart and Elle Fanning. Since so many films begin their awards-season campaigns there, we’re also introduced to some fresh faces every year, who make their mark with both their performances and fabulous wardrobes.

In 2016, Ruth Negga got on everyone’s radar for her work in “Loving.” Though the Irish actor had been in the industry for years, this was one of her first big leading roles, and she arrived to the film’s Cannes premiere looking the part in a stunningly detailed, black long-sleeved Marc Jacobs gown, styled by Karla Welch.

I remember really digging this look (and all subsequent looks from the “Loving” press and award-show tour) when I first saw it on the red carpet. But I fell in love with it all over again a few weeks ago, when Welch posted a throwback photo of her fitting with Negga for it, along with her memory of meeting the actor and getting that gown.

“[One] week before this picture was taken I was reading about the films debuting at Cannes… one that somehow caught my eye was called ‘Loving’ and the lead was a girl named Ruth Negga,” Welch wrote in the caption. A few days later, she continued, a Hollywood publicist got in touch — that got the wheels turning: A fitting in Albuquerque and a loan from Marc Jacobs later, we got this magical moment in the south of France.