Angelina Jolie’s new refugee fashion collective will utilize ‘deadstock material’

Angelina Jolie’s new refugee fashion collective will utilize ‘deadstock material’

05/24/2023

Here are some photos of Angelina Jolie and Zahara out in New York last week. Angelina clearly misses Zahara like crazy, and in Zahara’s first year at Spelman College, Angelina looked for any excuse to fly to Atlanta to see her daughter, and any time Zahara had time off, Angelina arranged for a girls’ trip to New York and more. I assume the trip last week was something fun for Zahara after her spring semester ended.

Meanwhile, at the end of 2022, Jolie stepped down from her position of special envoy to the UNHCR. She had worked with the UNHCR (in different positions) for 21 years. Many of us Jolie-stans wondered what she would do next, whether she would work for some smaller refugee organization. Well, we’re getting an answer… sort of. Angelina has announced that she’s starting Atelier Jolie, which is a fashion collective which will employ refugees and hopefully utilize some refugee fashion creatives.

The actress, director, and former United Nations goodwill ambassador and special envoy is launching Atelier Jolie, a new purpose-driven brand that will utilize deadstock and tap into the abilities of “refugees and other talented, under-appreciated groups, with positions of dignity based on skill.”

Jolie posted the news on her Instagram account, writing, “I’m starting something new today—a collective where everyone can create… Atelier Jolie is a place for creative people to collaborate with a skilled and diverse family of expert tailors, pattern makers, and artisans from around the world. It stems for my appreciation and deep respect for the many tailors and makers I’ve worked with over the years, a desire to make use of the high quality vintage material and deadstock material already available, and also to be part of a movement to cultivate more self-expression.”

More than 100 million tons of textile waste dead-end in landfills every year. Atelier Jolie seems designed to address that crisis. According to the brand website: “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.”

The mention of refugees is intriguing given the end last week of Title 42, a pandemic-era measure that allowed authorities to quickly turn back migrants on public health grounds. The U.S. could see record numbers of asylum seekers moving forward. Whatever Atelier Jolie becomes, Jolie is particularly well-placed to disrupt in this area.

[From Vogue]

I wonder if this collective is going to be LA-based or international or what. How are they getting their hands on “deadstock” and what will the larger organization look like? I don’t doubt Angelina, but it just sounds like a huge project. Perhaps she’s already employing refugee creatives to work out this enormous undertaking. It will be interesting to see… a collective making sack dresses out of deadstock. Please, let some of those refugee stylists get ahold of Angelina and get her to wear some different silhouettes!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsWTkDLRUk_/

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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