On Faith, Fashion, and Family
There’s nothing short of surprises when it comes to everything about Angelina Jolie. After more than three decades of being an actress, filmmaker, mother, and humanitarian, the mother of six has finally merged her passion with something that she had never made a fuss of – fashion.
Just a week before her 48th birthday, the Hollywood star announced her latest project – Atelier Jolie, a new fashion venture which promotes sustainability through upcycling as the primary focus. “We will use only leftover, quality vintage material and deadstock,” Jolie said on her venture’s website.
Basically, all the Atelier Jolie pieces will be made from waste, and the world has welcomed it with anticipation.
Judging from her rich, colorful life, anything and everything Jolie is far from boring. Controversy aside, her life stories are a great inspiration in many ways. Despite her eccentric and rebellious character, Jolie has somehow managed to pull through all the upheavals life threw at her.
Born on June 4, 1975, Jolie was the first daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. Her parents divorced when she was barely one year old as Voight cheated on Bertrand. This has left a deep emotional scar on Jolie’s heart and was the major cause of her depression and a period of self-harm during her teenage years.
The difficult childhood and loneliness, particularly from school bullying, led to serious drug abuse, bulimia, and insomnia. At 19 and 22, she attempted a suicide and even tried to hire a hitman to kill her, the latter following an 18-month marriage with actor Jonny Lee Miller. Their marriage was the talk of the town throughout the 1990s, thanks to Jolie’s t-shirt bearing her groom’s name which was written with her own blood.
Jolie’s major nervous breakdown came again when she was 24. This time, she had to be admitted for 72 hours at the hospital’s psychiatric ward. Her second marriage to actor Billy Bob Thornton was no less intriguing. The pair professed their love with vials of each other’s blood made into necklaces before parting ways in 2003. It was the adoption of her first child, Maddox, in 2002 that she felt some “stability” to “not be self-destructive again.”
Shortly after the divorce, she met Brad Pitt, who played her husband in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and would be by her side for the next 12 years. At that time, Jolie was already a global star, winning an Oscar in the 1999 drama Girl, Interrupted, and having secured her status in Hollywood with the role of Lara Croft in the 2001 film, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. It was around this time that she discovered a calling, one that is meaningful and fulfilling.
The filming in Cambodia was an eye opener to Jolie. The depressing sight of the war-torn country and ongoing humanitarian crisis brought her “greater understanding of the world.” Since then, she has been on more than 40 field missions and met with refugees in over 30 countries as UN Refugee Agency Goodwill Ambassador and Special Envoy. She stepped down from her role in December last year to engage “directly with refugees and local organizations.”
Five months later, she launched Atelier Jolie.
Unlike other celebrity brands which promote the brand owner’s lifestyle, Atelier Jolie prefers to tailor made its clothes through an exploration of design and style with its customers. They will also be able to repair or upcycle pieces from their closets as a way to eliminate waste. The goal, Jolie explained, is to “democratize the fashion industry” and introduce emerging designers and artisans to “create a community” among themselves and with customers.
In her interview with September issue of Vogue, Jolie admitted she felt a little funny seeing herself in fashion. Her style tends toward the minimalist and monochromatic. Her focus has never been on clothes and fashion. “There are more books than clothes in my closet. I’m not someone who likes clothes to consumer her life. And I don’t love the idea of being influenced,” she told Vogue.
As one of the highest-paid actors, knew how much her fashion choices make an impact, leading to the decision to use her influence for a good cause. The venture is also part of her healing from the high-profile divorce with Pitt and a way to re-discover and work on herself again.
What she has discovered was quite pleasing so far. “After I went through something where I was hurt, I had a therapist ask if I would try wearing a flowing garment. Sounds silly, but I assumed that pants and boots projected a ‘tougher’ look, a stronger me. But was I strong enough to be soft?”, Jolie said in the interview, referring to her transition from the usual dark, strong, style to the softer, easy-going looks which still radiates an aura of class and sophistication.
The new entrepreneur has said that she is looking forward to the new endeavor, with the first collection expected to come out soon. As excited as she was for the project, Jolie acknowledged it is a long way to go. But as she once said, “I do believe in the old saying, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ Our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are. By overcoming difficulties, we gain strength and maturity.”
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