Angelina Jolie’s Atelier Jolie Dresses a Celebrity at the Oscars

For the first time, Angelina Jolie’s brand Atelier Jolie dressed a celebrity on March 10, during the 96th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The garment was a hand-painted golden dress worn by Suleika Jaouad.

It’s been some time since Angelina Jolie announced her foray into the fashion world, notably opening a boutique in New York in the former studios of the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Jolie, accustomed to gracing the Oscars red carpet in hopes of winning an award—which she did in 2000 for her supporting role in "Girl, Interrupted"—has this time transitioned to being behind the scenes.

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The 48-year-old actress dressed American writer and New York Times columnist Suleika Jaouad for this 96th Oscars ceremony. Jaouad was accompanied by her husband, singer-songwriter Jon Batiste, who was nominated in the best original song category for his piece in the Netflix documentary "American Symphony," which chronicles their life together, weaving through their love story, the composition of a symphony, and Jaouad’s battle with cancer.

The entirely silk recycled dress is adorned at the back with a conductor's image, evidently depicting Jon Batiste leading musicians. In an interview with American Vogue, Angelina Jolie explained that since Jaouad is a painter, she wanted to create a dress inspired by her creativity, using the garment as a blank canvas.

An Artistic Collaboration

To create this “painting,” the actress collaborated with American artist Chaz Guest. In the same interview, she expressed her desire to incorporate a design reflecting the film "American Symphony," confident that Chaz Guest would be up to the task. He noted, “I used a painting technique well-known in Japan. It’s called sumi-e, done with sumi ink.”

The artist and Angelina Jolie decided together on the placement of the design, shaping it collaboratively. “Like all projects from Atelier Jolie, the goal is to make the garments both very personal and creative,” the actress continued in the interview. Jolie also sourced jewelry from the 1870s and 1970s to complement her creation, impressing Jaouad, who told Vogue, “Infusing clothes with soul and meaning represents a whole new approach to fashion... I was absolutely amazed by the research work and how collaborative the process was.” Thus, a successful first red carpet for the actress turned designer.