Cannes has two seasons and two entirely different wardrobes — the festival in May, which has its own formal register, and the summer from June through August, which is the Riviera in its truest sense. Both reward natural fabric. Neither forgives carelessness.

The Croisette in summer is one of the most visually considered promenades in Europe. The long boulevard running along the waterfront, the hotels set back from it — the Carlton, the Martinez — the beach clubs below, the yachts offshore. The standard here is set not by a dress code but by a shared understanding among the people who come here regularly that how you present yourself is part of the occasion.

The daytime wardrobe for Cannes in summer: a linen shirt in a light colour — white, oyster, the warm naturals — worn with linen shorts or trousers depending on the movement of the day. The morning coffee at a terrace on the Croisette, the afternoon at a beach club at La Bocca or Plage du Midi, the early evening walk along the old port before dinner. A single linen outfit carries all of this without adjustment.

The evening in Cannes is more considered than St Tropez and slightly less formal than Monaco. The restaurant terraces along the Croisette, the private dinners at villas in the hills above the town — these are contexts where a PP linen shirt in navy or a deeper earth tone, with well-cut linen trousers and a leather shoe, reads correctly. Not dressed up. Not underdressed. Simply considered.

During the festival period, the standard elevates. The Palais steps and the evening screenings require a more formal register. A well-cut linen suit or the PP linen shirt with a structured trouser and the right shoe carries the occasion without being costume.

Belgian linen holds its quality through a long Riviera day in a way that few other fabrics achieve.

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