Angelina Jolie may not have personally stepped onto the Oscars red carpet, but her artistic genius did.
The star—who recently launched Atelier Jolie, a fashion line and retail space—made her debut as a fashion designer at Sunday night’s 96th Academy Awards ceremony. She tapped writer and journalist Suleika Jaouad to be the first person to wear an original Angelina design.
The incredible gown was made out of delicately pleated fabric in a luminous stormy gray hue. Standout details included fluttery cape sleeves, a high-waisted skirt, and a train covered in a graphite-black illustration drawn by artist Chaz Guest.
“This dress was designed by the one-and-only Angelina Jolie,” Suleika said in a red-carpet interview with Canadian entertainment outlet Etalk. “Her first time designing a dress for the red carpet, and she invited the amazing artist Chaz Guest to paint a symphony on the back of it.”
Suleika, who appears in husband Jon Batiste’s Oscar-nominated documentary American Symphony, pointed out a figure in the illustrated scene. “So we have Mr. Batiste right here,” she explained.
Angelina explained her decision to dress Suleika in a statement. “I have such deep admiration for Suleika and the way she lives her life—how she meets difficulty with strength and grace,” she said. “[She is a] brilliant creative force who inspires everyone who knows her. I would have dressed her for anything she needed; it should never be about the dress, but how anything worn feels like an extension of the person.”
The Academy Award winner explained the mission of Atelier Jolie in a December 2023 interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “We are a collective that aims to show that an ethical and sustainable lifestyle isn’t a lesser life with limitations,” she said. “It is better quality of life, with personal creativity and community at its center.”
