Blood vials, chainmail, rubber,
and spikes. Angelina Jolie has worn it all and more in some very high-profile places.
Back in the 2000s, Angelina Jolie epitomized
the style of the new millennium. Take the 2001 L.A. premiere of Lara Croft:
Tomb Raider, for example. Jolie ruled the red carpet in a sleeveless black crop top,
low-rise black leather pants, and a thick black belt. She rocked a middle part and minimal makeup.
But what made Jolie's look iconic is the ink visible on her lower abdomen.
There's the thick, black cross on her hip and,
beside it, Latin script reading: "Quod me nutrut me destruit.". Translation:
"What nourishes me, destroys me."
Tatts aside, Jolie's head-to-toe black was a preview of looks to come.
Can we talk about Angelina Jolie without mentioning her blood vial necklace? Rumors
about Jolie and ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton's bio-jewelry swirled for years. But when Thornton
spoke at Loyola Marymount University's School of Film & Television in 2014, he explained that
Jolie had the idea because they'd spend a lot of time apart while making films.
"We took a little razor-blade and sliced our fingers,
smear a little blood on these lockets and you wear it around your neck."
Thornton joked that their vials sparked outrageous rumors that they were vampires
and lived dark and sinister lives. What started as something unique
and personal became a tabloid sensation that got blown way out of proportion.
"I'd rather have his blood around my neck than three million dollar
diamonds, do you know what I mean? So I don't see why that's weird."
For her 2004 Oscar look, she turned to designer Marc Bouwer, who put her in a white gown with
a deep neckline and a matching wrap. The gown was so popular that it spawned its own Wikipedia page.
Jolie's choice to wear Bouwer was an important step in her transformation from punk princess
to movie goddess. Bouwer's official website elaborates on his brand's style, stating:
"The Marc Bouwer aesthetic is the very definition of timeless elegance, touched by his love of
cinema [...] undeniably sexy, yet kept in check by an appreciation for classic silver-screen glamor."
The ideal red carpet recipe? We think so.
For the 2005 premiere of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Angelina Jolie chose a black leather gown with
a plunging neckline. Her relationship with co-star and future husband Brad Pitt was still hush-hush,
but Jolie's outfit sent a message. The film is about a married couple who later discover that
they're both secret assassins, so Jolie's tight, leather getup was on brand for the whole event.
But, as we've come to see, Jolie's running theme throughout her life
in fashion has been black leather. In 2019, she told Harper's Bazaar,
"At school I wasn't that popular person; I was a punk. I loved leather, PVC,
and fishnets. Those were my three favorite fabrics in my early 20s."
In a departure from her usual head-to-toe minimalism, Angelina Jolie wore a pair of
massive emerald earrings by jeweler Lorraine Schwartz to the 2009 Oscars.
The emeralds, sourced in Colombia, were a combined 115 carats,
according to The Daily Mail. The price tag? $2.5 million. Jolie also wore a 65-carat
emerald ring worth over a million dollars. The outlet also notes that
we don't know if the jewelry was loaned to Jolie or if she purchased the items.
Jewelry came up again when Brad Pitt proposed with a stunning diamond
ring he designed with jeweler Robert Procop. Procop and Jolie then decided
to collaborate on a jewelry collection called the "Style of Jolie." Procop said,
"The line is all about Angelina — very chic and very clean [...] Angelina likes
to dress in a monochromatic way — if she's wearing a green dress,
she'll wear green jewels, for example — and the collection reflects this."
All proceeds went to charity.
Art imitated life when it came to Angelina's style as Elise in The Tourist,
which was filmed in Venice, Italy. Costume designer Colleen Atwood
explained the thinking behind Jolie's glamorous looks to People, saying,
"My inspiration for Elise's costumes were the Hitchcock movies: minimal elegance."
Atwood expanded on Jolie's aesthetic in The Tourist to Vogue calling it,
"Intuitive style; almost hereditary, never showy."
At the premiere, Jolie embodied Atwood's description by wearing a cashmere Versace
wrap dress paired with green beryl earrings from Style of Jolie. The earrings were
over 67 carats each, cut in a shape called tablet, meant to mimic ancient engravings.
Pregnant with twins Vivienne and Knox, Angelina Jolie rocked her baby bump in
a flowy green Max Azria Atelier gown at the 2008 Cannes premiere of Kung Fu Panda.
Jolie loved being pregnant. She told Vanity Fair,
"It makes me feel like a woman. It makes me feel that all the things about my body
are suddenly there for a reason. It makes you feel round and supple,
and to have a little life inside you is amazing."
She added that her relationship with Pitt made the experience even better.
"I'm fortunate. I think some women have a different experience depending on their
partner. I think that affects it. I happen to be with somebody who
finds pregnancy very sexy. So that makes me feel very sexy."
With so many home runs, there are bound to be a few fouls, even for a fashion icon
like Angelina Jolie. In 2014, she joined Brad Pitt at the premiere of his film,
The Normal Heart, held in New York City. As usual, Jolie looked stunning in a black,
strapless dress. But her face was covered in white powder.
Glamour's beauty team theorized that Jolie's makeup artist probably used HD finishing powder —
a go-to on film sets because it appears invisible. But when cameras flash, the powder is super
obvious. And obvious it was. Jolie's jawline, forehead, and chest were completely dusted.
It couldn't have been visible to the naked eye because she socialized the night away without
anyone warning her. The photos, however, were … haunting … at least for that poor makeup artist.
Angelina Jolie attended the 2011 Cannes Film Festival to support Brad Pitt's film
Tree of Life. At the event, she donned a brown satin gown by Atelier Versace.
The look was quintessential Jolie: elegant but understated. On and off the red carpet,
she likes simple things that never go out of style. She told Vogue,
"I invest in quality pieces, and then just wear them to death. Boots, a favorite coat,
a favorite purse, I don't change things often, you know? That's one of my things."
As she explained to Fox News,
"When I'm not all done up for some kind of — I'm boring. I'm very utilitarian.
I like things that function. I like to travel a lot, I like to be busy,
I have a lot of kids so I don't have a lot of extra time for other frills."
In October 2014, Angelina Jolie became an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most
Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George in recognition of her long-running
work to stop sexual violence in war-torn areas.
For the service of commemoration at St. Paul's Cathedral in 2018, Jolie chose a
dove gray dress by Ralph & Russo, a matching gray fascinator, gray gloves and a brooch.
She knew her outfit was hardly the
most interesting thing about the event. As she told Elle:
"To receive an honor related to foreign policy means a great deal to me,
as it is what I wish to dedicate my working life to. Working on PVSI and
with survivors of [sexual assault] is an honor in itself. I know that succeeding
in our goals will take a lifetime, and I am dedicated to it for all of mine."
Angelina Jolie adored playing the wicked witch in Disney's Maleficent. The misunderstood antagonist
had been one of her favorite characters since childhood. As she told Rotten Tomatoes,
"It was a little terrifying for me to bring her to life because I was such a fan of hers."
Then she tried on the horns. Jolie explained,
"I got my horns on for the first time and I got my staff and it was like
living out some childhood fantasy to become somebody you've always been curious about."
Jolie chose a Maleficent vibe for the L.A. premiere, wearing a "rubberized" black,
strapless Atelier Versace gown that, in the right light, looked like patent leather. A
definite showstopper. She added spike earrings and wore a ponytail to round out the dark magic theme.
One Maleficent wasn't enough, so in 2019, Disney produced a sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
"How did it feel to put the horns back on?"
"Fantastic. I missed them. I wish I could wear them every day."
At the London premiere, Jolie wore a custom Ralph & Russo gown with a gold harness and
a cape. In keeping with the witchy vibe, the dress featured embroidered Swarovski crystal
spiders and scorpions. Even the paint was on theme; Jolie wore a red lip and sultry makeup.
She attended the Maleficent 2 premiere with four of her children: Vivienne, Zahara,
Shiloh, and Knox. Adorably, daughter Zahara also wore a Ralph & Russo gown.
For the 2021 Rome Film Festival premiere of Eternals, Angelina Jolie showed up
in a silver Atelier Versace gown and earrings by Italian jeweler Vhernier.
She told Vogue,
"I signed up to support Chloé [Zhao]'s vision and Marvel's
commitment to expand the way we see "superheroes". Running around in a
gold bodysuit was not how I imagined my forties. But it's good crazy, I think."
"A lot of people are going to see themselves as superheroes for the first time."
Jolie's Versace gown was made from heritage metal mesh, which meant that it came from
"cast-off silver micro paillettes" from the Versace archives. The eco-conscious
gown echoes the message of sustainability Jolie tries to implement in her wardrobe.
She is committed to leading by example, reusing or re-inventing wherever possible.
At the October 2021 Eternals premiere in Los Angeles, Angelina Jolie went for
a gold Balmain Resort gown with a daring chin cuff that connected from inside her
lower lip to beneath her chin. The custom piece was created by Nina Berenato Jewelry.
That night, Jolie's children made headlines of their own. Daughter Zahara had on the Elie Saab
gown Jolie wore to the 2014 Oscars while daughter Shiloh wore a reworked Gabriela Hearst that also
belonged to her mom. Jolie's other kids also wore pre-owned clothing. As the actor explained,
"My kids are all mixed with vintage,
and in my old Oscars dress. We did all vintage and upcycled my old stuff."
It was a fun way to show how eco-conscious fashion can create
a family-bonding moment. Lord knows Jolie's looks are too beautiful to only wear once.