She"s familiar to most of us as the ultra-glossy, pulled-together First Lady Claire Underwood in House of Cards.But on the Cannes red carpet this week, Robin Wrightwas offering a style masterclass of a very different- but equally empowering- kind.In aseries of glamorously sophisticated looks, Wright ripped up the rule book when it comes to dressing for one of the world"s most famousfilm festivals.

In the process, shealso offered up a genuinely useful approach to agelessly fabulous style.

"Even though this is a prestigious film festival, you have to keep in mind that Cannes is warm, it"s by the water - it seems like there"s always a soft breeze blowing," says Kemal Harris, the stylist who put together Wright"s Cannes wardrobe, of her inspiration for Wright"s Cannes looks.

Wright"s first major fashion moment came at the festival"sopening ceremony when she stood out amongst a sea of gowns in glittering Saint Laurent mini dress."It"s hard to tell unless you"re looking at up close but all of those stones on the Saint Laurent dress are stitched on individually by hand," explains Harris."It"s just phenomenal work!"

Of course, the design served to highlight Wright"s killer toned legs but Harris had the festival"s celebratory theme in mind too."This is the 70th Anniversary of Cannes so I wanted to find something that felt like a party dress," she says."I was thinking a lot about the golden era of Cannes fashion.I imagined Betty Catroux wearing this dress to a Cannes screening and then kicking off her heels and jumping on a yacht with a bottle of champagne."

Catroux- the party girl modeland muse to Yves Saint Laurent- would surely have approved.

The following day, Wright switched things up again in a Stella McCartney, slim-fitting suit which might have come straight from Claire Underwood"s wardrobe, if it weren"t for a smattering of tweaks and additions which transformed it from purely professional to modern and chic.

"I was looking for a chic tailored suit to balance out the many dresses and this one fit the bill," says Harris."It"s a great lightweight fabric and we flipped the cuffs to show a bit of skin."

Harris finished the ensemble with Saint Laurent sunglasses (for an ultra-cool outdoor photo call look) and a pair of leopard print heels which added an extra dash of attitude."The Schutz leopard print pumps are just a fun accent.Plus, all my clients tell me that the Schutz pumps are very comfy!" explains Harris.It made for a perfectly pitched look for Wright"s appearence at Kering"s "Women in Motion" event.

"Effortless and sexy" is how Harris sums up Wright"s final outfit, a teal slip dress by L.A-based designer Michelle Mason."The color is what initially drew me to it and then when I saw how good the fit was, I was totally sold," she says."The jewel tone inspired me to add the raspberry heels and royal blue clutch."

Once again, the breezy, relaxedlook created serious impact thanks to the unique contrast it offered to some of the more high-octane ensembles.

Wright did, however, have some compatriots in her glamorous red carpet rebellion; last nightsaw Susan Sarandon don a skintight maxi-length leather skirt, Vanessa Redgrave ditch heels for Converse and Uma Thurman throw on a leather jacket.The common thread?These are all women with the perfect counterbalance of poise and confidence to rule the red carpet, in their own way.

The most glamorous looks from the Cannes red carpet