fashion

The dress that launched Bella Hadid's career is nothing we haven't seen before.

When Bella Hadid graced the Cannes red carpet complete with a sky-high dress split with her thigh on naked display, the world promptly forgot Cannes was about film and focused their attention on her skin.

Wow! Daring, they said. Malfunction alert! They wrote.

The name Bella Hadid saturated the media market, with headlines aplenty:

And the Award for Cannes 2017’s Highest Leg Slit Goes to Bella Hadid

Bella suffers Cannes wardrobe malfunction

Model Bella Hadid wears daring dress at Cannes Film Festival

Bella Hadid Pays Homage to Herself at Cannes

Google the words Bella Hadid and a litany of pieces arrive. Google the word Cannes and the news is about her dress and not about the festival.

It's not the first time the Victoria's Secret model has launched herself like a rocket onto our radar with a dress that "dared" to "bare".

Just last year she wandered into the news at the same event with a similar story. Thigh high dress split, news reports a-plenty.

Because for women in a certain industry, a cheeky red carpet moment can do wonders for exposure, and create the kinds of moments we will remember for far longer than we otherwise would.

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Take for instance that red dress that made Rebecca Judd, then Twigley a national household name.

Or when just last year Jesinta Campbell's Logies dress caused such a stir, think pieces were written about it.

Add Chrissy Teigan's infamous AMA's dress to the mix...

...along with the original and arguably more iconic Safety Pin Dress of our generation.

And the, of course, there's Jennifer Lopez.

Sure, this week Bella Hadid landed back on our minds and in our conversations because of a single dress, but she's certainly not the first person whose done so. In the time that's elapsed since Liz Hurley stepped out in a dress held together by a few safety pins and Bella's Cannes moment (times two), not much has changed.

Well, perhaps, the only thing that has changed is that it takes an entire side vag accident to demand our attention.

But apart from that, the red carpet always has, and always will, be a place to cement yourself in the memories of thousands. For good, or for bad.

We're just glad it keeps it interesting.