Angelina Jolie has launched a New-York based atelier that will encourage customers to tailor and customise their clothes.
Speaking with Vogue writer Chioma Nnadi about the project, as well as her complex relationship with fashion and identity, Jolie insists that she wants to create a hub for a variety of creatives.
"I don’t want to be a big fashion designer," she told Vogue. "I want to build a house for other people to become that."
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Her list of collaborators includes London-based milliner Justin Smith, American artist Duke Riley, and South African lace-maker Pierre Fouché.
She has also worked with designer Gabriela Hearst on a capsule collection with Chloé, which will consist of pieces inspired directly by Jolie's personal style.
Once a punk starlet, known for wearing vampy black dresses on the red carpet, the 48-year-old can now be found looking sophisticated in elegant, well-tailored pieces.
When they speak, Nnadi says that Jolie is modeling a pair of custom woolen gray trousers, one of multiple styles that will be available made to measure.
The cost of a custom slip, she writes, will start at around $300, but repair services will begin at $10 for a hand-painted patch.
There will also be take-home mending kits and a stud-it-yourself activity station in the café that patrons can use for free.
Helen Aboah, chief operating officer of Jolie Atelier, and photographer Giles Duley, told the publication that they hope to create ethical and sustainably-minded practices for the project.
"Over the last 20 years documenting humanitarian stories, I've seen the negative impact of Western consumerism on developing countries—from child labor, illegal extraction of minerals, pollution from the dyeing of fabrics, exploitation of farmers, and much more," says Duley.
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Over on the website, Atelier Jolie's mission statement says that the "highest form of self-expression" comes from creating individual style.
"Designers often sketch or approve designs, but it is the tailors who make the difference and who I truly love creating with. And yet, these makers rarely receive the credit and respect they deserve," writes Jolie.
"We will use only leftover, quality vintage material and deadstock. You will be able to repair or upcycle pieces from your closet you wish to revive, perfecting fit, breathing new life into what could have been thrown away, and creating quality heirloom garments with personal meaning."
Speaking with Vogue on the evolution of her own style, Jolie says she was always attracted to unique pieces, and insists that she has no desire to be influenced by others.
"I was a punk, not the popular kid—going to thrift stores, cutting things up, burning little teeny cigarette holes into things: That was me as a teenager, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Maybe that part of me wants to push back."
To read the full article in Vogue, click here.
