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The word insouciance has appeared in 30 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on May 23 in “The Cannes Red Carpet Is So Much Better Than the Met Gala or the Oscars” by Vanessa Friedman:

In the wake of what seems like an increasingly calculated Met Gala and boringly serious Oscars (except for the men), this defining quality is starting to seem lost. The deals have taken the fun out of dressing, which is ironic, because fun is why we watched in the first place, and the watching is why the deals began to be made. This year, Cannes brought it back.

It’s about time.

So there was Charlotte Gainsbourg, in short, zebra-striped Saint Laurent, thrown on with the insouciance of a T-shirt: Yeah, I’m dressed up, but whatever! It’s sunny. Here was Helen Mirren, going old-school glam in pink and gold Elie Saab — and matching pink hair. There was Dakota Fanning in an utterly stripped-down Armani ball gown; here was Julianne Moore in a slither of silver Givenchy armor, capped by a fluttering rose cape.