Exclusive Interview | Angelina Jolie talks about her own brand Atelier Jolie: “I don’t want to be a designer, I just want to build a home and achieve success for others.” | Vogue Taiwan

For art lovers in the heart of New York City, “57 Great Jones Street” is something of a mecca. Andy Warhol bought this two-story building in 1970, and ten years later rented the second floor to his friend Jean-Michel Basquiat, whom he had just met. Now, the building’s exterior is almost covered in graffiti, and it looks like every street artist within a fifty-kilometer radius has paid tribute. “Maybe we can do something with these artistic creations.” Angelina Jolie said as she poked her head out from under the giant umbrella.

The shooting took place in mid-July, and it started to drizzle on Sunday morning. She had just arrived in New York from Italy. Six months ago, she and her eldest daughter Zahara, 18, who is studying at Spelman College in Atlanta, accidentally discovered this place when they were looking for a suitable retail store for their own brand Atelier Jolie in the city. As soon as they walked through the door, they knew the search was over. “I have a very impulsive personality, but Zahara is very steady, decisive and caring.” She said, “When she agreed, I felt like we both had made our decision.”

golden goddess

Angelina Jolie wears Chloé x Atelier Jolie’s low environmental impact silk fitted dress and velvet cape. Briony Raymond ring.

In November, the actor, director, and former goodwill ambassador and special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will open the door of Atelier Jolie. Through this power, she will take advantage of the opportunity to introduce the “global thinking” and “social responsibility” she has accumulated in the past into the fashion industry. .

She believes that Atelier Jolie is a collaborative space, like a combination of a cultural center and a design workshop, integrating concepts such as clothing production, recycling services, a display space for local artists’ works, and a cafe run in cooperation with refugee organizations… . “I’ve known a lot of craftsmen over the years, and they’re all very capable and talented people, and I love to see them grow.” She leads the way to show me the space before the contractor begins work. Her list of partners includes London-based milliner Justin Smith and South African lacemaker Pierre Fouché, but she also said: “It’s not all about fashion.” And Atelier Jolie is not all about herself.

Her goal is to create a community, and in so doing, her grand plan breaks with the traditional mold of celebrity, which often overemphasizes the personality traits of the founder. For example, the Atelier Jolie model may be more like the Olsen sisters’ The Row. The founder’s reputation will not overshadow the clothes themselves or detract from the value of the promise.

The tour begins on the second floor, a light-filled loft with high ceilings, exposed beams and benches made from recycled wood, where tailors will be able to create future pieces from dead stock and craft fabrics. New. Jolie shows us a pair of gray wool trousers, one of many items available for customization; for example, prices start at $300 for a custom slip dress, plus repairs with hand-painted patches Services start at US$10. In the future, the brand will also sell DIY repair kits, and the cafe will also have a “handmade station” where customers can DIY their own clothing for free.

Although the house has changed owners several times since Basquiat moved in, the traces of this prolific artist are still visible: the graffiti logo SAMO©, which he and his friend Al Diaz created together, is on the concrete floor in front of you. This morning, Jolie came to visit with her small team, including brand president and CEO Helen Aboah, and Giles Duley. The latter provided advice to the project on how to enhance the company’s influence. Although he initially entered the industry as a “music photographer”, he quickly transformed into an “angry man with a camera” as he calls himself, and focused on global The impact of communal conflicts everywhere. “In the past two decades, I have been documenting humanitarian stories and have seen many of the negative impacts of Western consumerism on developing countries, including child labor, illegal mining of minerals, dye pollution, exploitation of farmers and other phenomena.” He Said: “Atelier Jolie can have a positive impact on those undervalued and unknown artisans, and we can also take the opportunity to start a dialogue about labor exploitation, pollution, and waste issues.” Aboah added:

There are all signs that this team is starting to leave its mark: a blank canvas hangs at the entrance of the store, with the Atelier Jolie logo painted on it with white spray paint. “That is a work my son practiced,” she proudly mentioned of this year’s 19 The 20-year-old son Pax is also actively involved in the project like his sister Zahara. As a single mother raising six children independently, Jolie believes that such a big plan requires the whole family to invest together. When the topic turned to her children, she became more than willing to share personal details. “I became a mother at the age of 26,” she says. “My whole life changed. Raising children saved me and taught me how to change.” different ways of existing in the world.”

“They’re better than me, because you want your kids to be better than you are. Of course, as a mother, you want to provide a safe place for them, both physically and mentally, but I’m the one they’re laughing at, and I see them taking over this Every aspect of the home.”

On the way downstairs, she and Duley decided to conduct a DIY art experiment: Today she was wearing one of her signature cream trench coats, made by the sustainable brand Another Tomorrow, but she quickly took off her clothes in a well-lit corner of the first-floor studio. , said, “We wanted to see if we could take photos of tattoos here and turn the photos into patches – the hope is that you can make the clothes ‘yours’ instead of just throwing them away.” She carried the back Facing Duley’s camera, the clothes fell to her waist, revealing her back covered with tattoos. Aboah and I moved to the door and started chatting quickly to give Jolie some privacy, although the star didn’t seem to mind.

Among the many tattoos on her slender body, distributed on her right arm are the Arabic words “Strength and Hope” and another Italian sentence “Still Turning”. The latter is a famous saying of Galileo Galilei, who was famous for proposing important scientific research on the solar system. He was taken to court for observing, but he still adhered to the idea that the earth revolves around the sun. “My kids would roll their eyes if I were here,” she said. “When I was younger I was pretty dark, a punk girl, definitely not a popular goddess. I would go to thrift stores and cut things up and burn holes in them. This was my youth, and I wouldn’t want to trade my life with anyone. Maybe at that time, a part of me wanted to fight back against the world.”

For someone who has been rebellious since childhood, her dressing style tends to be minimalist and single-toned, with clear restraint and conservatism. As a woman with a long history of involvement in humanitarian affairs, she clearly strives to keep the focus on her work, not her clothes. Rather than leaving the choice to celebrity stylists, she prefers to dress herself or work with a seamstress. She admitted:

Although she doesn’t want to admit it, her fashion style has already had a huge impact on others, and any fashion details of hers will be carefully analyzed by fans on the community. Although she seems to dislike being the center of attention, she has indirectly contributed to the current “Quiet Luxury” trend (see Gwyneth Paltrow’s outfit in court, or Shiv in “Succession” Roy’s look). Now, if a fashion website could successfully identify the brand of the seemingly ordinary pair of shoes Jolie wore at the airport, it would immediately attract hundreds of thousands of clicks. And this is exactly what Jolie hopes to transform into a positive influence in promoting public welfare.

“It’s kind of funny that I find myself participating in fashion—I don’t think any of us are very ‘fashionable,'” she said, referring to herself and her children. “But our lives are reflected in our clothes. These clothes represent us. This has always been an issue worth exploring, especially for young people.” This workshop is exactly the place she wants to take her children to visit. “I’ve always wanted to take my whole family to a place where I can ask questions like this: Does the clothes you wear truly represent who you are? Is that 100% the real you? Do you like who you are? ?I think most people don’t think that the clothes they wear can fully represent themselves, but through customization, you can do this.”

According to Jolie, the concept of the brand originated from the desire to stimulate dialogue about “self-presentation” and “identity.” She mentioned a family discussion about the Los Angeles premiere of “The Eternals” in which she stars in 2021. “I never tell children how to dress. Even when they are young, I just put things on Put it in front of them.” The same goes for attending public events. “If they don’t want to go, no one has to go. If they don’t want to dress up, they don’t have to dress up.” For the special occasion of the premiere, these five kids decided to dress up. , so Jolie decided to use this red carpet to do an experiment on recycling fashion. She picked out a bunch of old clothes from the wardrobe and let the children choose what they wanted.

Among the clothes was a beige Gabriela Hearst dress. At the age of 15, Shiloh, who was famous for his neat suits and boyish short hair, chose to trim the dress down to his knees. Zahara, on the other hand, chose a gorgeous Elie Saab beaded gown, which Jolie wore to the 2014 Oscars. “I also took some of my children to buy antique clothes. I remember that Knox was all wearing antique clothes. The tailoring of the clothes was very special and cool.” She mentioned her youngest son, who was 13 years old at the time, “I want them all to be able to Be yourself.”

Later, Jolie decided to visit Gabriela Hearst and invited me to go with her. The two women have teamed up to launch a curated collection with Chloé that includes evening wear inspired by Jolie’s understated elegance, and Jolie was eager to share more about it with me. For Hearst, who is ending his three-year tenure as creative director of Chloé this season, this collection was something of a final feat. We took a ride to Hearst’s office in Chelsea. On the way, she sighed: “I didn’t expect that, except for Chloé, the fashion industry would meet the B Corp certification, which refers to high social and environmental standards. There are too few brands (certification from influential companies). Gaby is really working hard, and this is a big thing.” She is right, because of Gabriela Hearst, this French brand finally became the first in history in 2021 A boutique brand certified as a B Corp.

Jolie takes this achievement particularly seriously because she has been on the front lines to witness the plight of climate migrants—people who must move from their homes or cross borders as a result of disasters caused by climate change. She left the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) last December, apparently looking for new, more immediate ways to contribute. “I have spent over 20 years of my life working on foreign policy, aid, humanitarian aid, and refugee law, and I kept seeing the same situation worsen or cycle. Now I want to change my focus and find a way to work with talented people from around the world. not only to provide skills training, but also to provide actual business cooperation, because I think the current system is no longer working.” Hearst also sees the potential of this cooperation, she said: “I admire those who use their light to Someone who shines a light on other vulnerable people.” Hearst met Jolie through a mutual friend a few years ago, “and she is the epitome of that.”

When the two met for the first time, they immediately aroused a tacit understanding of chatting happily like old friends. As they drank green tea in Hearst’s cozy office, their conversation became playful. “Remember that hilarious Zoom meeting?” Jolie said. “We were both half-naked and trying to help each other get dressed.” Hearst laughed and said, “I was drinking.” Jolie took out her phone. She scrolled up the photo album and said, “It looks like there are a lot of weird freeze-frames…ah, wait, I found it!” A half-naked but slightly blurry Hearst appeared on the screen of her mobile phone, making the designer blush on the spot. , the two burst into laughter at the same time.

Jolie pulled up another photo on her phone, which was a photo of her and her mother when she was a child. Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, also an actress, passed away in 2007 at the age of 56 after an eight-year battle with ovarian and breast cancer. In the photo, little Jolie is wearing a Mi Ni black velvet cape and a cute woven white dress. She said nostalgically: “That was my first cape. My mother calls herself a hippie. She is very proud of this title. She doesn’t like it.” When shopping, she likes velvet and suede. She never wears makeup or does her hair. She is not a fancy person, she is very elegant and natural.”

This sweet mother-daughter photo became the starting point for this Chloé collaboration, sparking a wider conversation between the two women. Hearst said: “Jolie and I are basically the same age, and I learned that her late mother was the same age as my mother.” Behind Hearst’s desk was a black-and-white photo of her mother, a Buddhist. , Taekwondo master and fifth-generation Uruguayan ranch owner. “So I started studying Jolie’s mother, her beauty, her strength and grace.”

The collaboration includes a flamboyant floor-length velvet cape and an adult version of a white Jolie dress handmade by artisans at La Fabrique Nomade, a Paris-based organization that works with refugees. Jolie’s signature silk-layered dresses come in a variety of nude colors – a suggestion from her daughter Zahara, who had been unable to find anything suitable for her dark brown skin tone. “Obviously as a white woman, I would never have had this experience,” she said candidly: “It wasn’t until we went shopping together that I realized there was actually a lot of room for improvement.” (84% of the entire series Products are made from sustainable and ethical materials)

This series also includes many wonderful tailoring techniques, such as a waist-cinched black jacket made of organic organza. But overall, the style is gentle and rounded, rather than serious. All shoulder lines and contours are full of details. A smooth curve. Jolie said: “Sometimes your dress is like saying to others: ‘Don’t mess with me, I have put on armor.’ But I hope women can feel safe enough that they are willing to show softness. After going through After some trauma, my therapist asked me if I would like to wear some flowing and comfortable clothes? It seems a bit silly, but in the past, I always believed that pants and boots were enough to create a “tough” image and show that I was stronger. me. But am I strong enough to be willing to show my soft side? At that time, I couldn’t, I felt very fragile. But now I am thinking, maybe I don’t know what my style is, because I am 48 years old this year I’m still trying to understand myself. I think I’m going through some kind of transition.”

She paused, as if gathering her thoughts:

Perhaps she was referring to the public pressure caused by her years-long divorce case with ex-husband Brad Pitt. She added that she “started cutting back on film work seven years ago, only taking jobs that didn’t require long-term filming. After all, we had a lot of healing work to do and we were still trying to find our footing.” Atelier Jolie seems to be part of this process as well. . “I think being in this creative space, working with people you trust, and rediscovering yourself has been somewhat therapeutic for me,” she said. “I hope to change every aspect of my life for the better.” moving forward in the direction.”

Around lunch time, Jolie received a call from her driver. It seemed that she would not be able to catch up with her appointment with Pax. They had to find a suitable New York apartment to stay together (Jolie had just signed a contract to produce the Broadway production of “The Outsider”). Jolie turned to hug Hearst goodbye and said, “I don’t have any girl friends, so this is a fun break for me.” Hearst hugged back and gave Jolie her favorite Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate. Single origin fair trade chocolate.

The next morning, at a studio in Brooklyn, we got a glimpse of Jolie’s free-spirited and rebellious side with photographer Annie Leibovitsz. She suddenly felt that the pure white pleated skirt customized for this shoot was too plain, and bluntly said that the dress seemed to lack a bit of personal flavor and graffiti. So she grabbed the pink spray paint can beside her with both hands and started spraying it freely.

In this story: hair for Angelina Jolie, Massimo Serini; makeup for Angelina Jolie, Lisa Houghton; hair, Shingo Shibata; makeup, Raisa Flowers. Produced by AL Studio. Set Design: Mary Howard.
Translator: Christine Lee

Original text from: VOGUE US

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