Is ‘The White Lotus’ Going to Reference Cannes’ Shoe Dress Code?

It’s time to check back in to “The White Lotus.” For Season Four, Mike White is taking audiences to the Cannes Film Festival, and he might be incorporating one of the event’s dress code controversies into the storyline.

Since the Thailand-set Season Three wrapped up, fans of the hit HBO dramedy were quick to speculate where we might find the next location of the fictional luxury resort chain — turns out there might be a murder on the Croisette. The upcoming season takes place amid the famous film festival at the French Riviera, and the long list of cast members now includes Laura Dern (replacing Helena Bonham Carter). Recent photos of Dern on set might be nodding to the festival’s dress code and its complex history with heels and flat footwear.

On Monday in Cannes, Dern could be seen walking down the red carpeted steps of the Palais des Festivals with multiple footwear looks. Dressed up in an elegant black knee-length dress and red jacket, she was photographed removing a pair of black pumps and walking barefoot — stars like Kristen Stewart have done this in real life at the festival. The actress was also captured with a pair of simple black thong sandals on.

This might be more than a simple wardrobe shoe change or moment of foot pain reprieve for Dern or her character — there’s been controversy through the years related to wardrobe expectations for women at the Cannes Film Festival. While the latest rules for gala screenings at the Grand Théâtre Lumière calls for “elegant shoes and sandals with or without a heel — no sneakers,” flats didn’t always seem so welcome.

When the drama known as “Flatgate” went down in 2015 after women in flats were denied entry to the premiere of “Carol,” the festival put out an official statement: “Regarding the dress code for the red carpet screenings, rules have not changed throughout the years (Tuxedo, formal dress for Gala screenings) and there is no specific mention about the height of the women’s heels as well as for men’s. Thus, in order to make sure that this rule is respected, the festival’s hosts and hostesses were reminded of it.”

All this to say, Mike White could be tapping into the nuanced wardrobe politics of the festival in “The White Lotus” Season Four — time will tell what Dern’s shoe removal and swap really signified.

Dern was at the real 79th annual Cannes Film Festival too, joining her family for a red carpet moment during which she modeled an embellished Giorgio Armani gown with a sheer shawl. The festival premiered a documentary about her father, Hollywood icon Bruce Dern, called “Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern.”