Angelina Jolie's Community-Centric Atelier is Officially Open https://t.co/kNa6utaWWE

— Harper’s BAZAAR (@harpersbazaarus) December 7, 2023

This week, the actor and activist launches a fashion collection that’s about gathering, making, and inspiring

BY BROOKE BOB  BPUBLISHED: DEC 07, 2023 9:55 AM EST

COURTESY OF ATELIER JOLIE

Actors enter the fashion game all the time, but they don’t usually do it like Angelina Jolie. Yesterday, the Oscar winner opened the doors to her first retail space, Atelier Jolie, in New York City’s SoHo. This isn’t a mere brand extension, though: As with everything Jolie does, there is a humanitarian angle. “We are a collective that aims to show that an ethical and sustainable lifestyle isn’t a lesser life with limitations,” she explained over email from the set of her upcoming Maria Callas biopic. “It is better quality of life, with personal creativity and community at its center."

The store is set in an art-world landmark, 57 Great Jones Street, a carriage house where painter Jean-Michel Basquiat lived and worked in the 1980s, after renting the space from building owner Andy Warhol. The building is recognizable for its front panels, which have been graffitied many times over by local artists and Basquiat fans throughout the decades. When they renovated, the Atelier Jolie team took great care to keep the integrity of the architecture alive. The front panels will remain intact, though they will slide back to reveal glass windows during daytime hours of operation.

Further in keeping with the space’s artistic sensibility, the store is partly staffed by students and alumni from Parsons School of Design, three of whom gave me a tour earlier this week. The young artists on her team, Jolie said, are “even more inclined to be bold and disruptive, and that thrills me.”

Art-making takes place on the premises, too, as shoppers can work with the team to customize pieces in Jolie’s collection. Made with deadstock and vintage materials, the clothes range from beautifully fluid but sturdy trench coats to crisp suiting and sheer Swiss dot dresses. Customers can pick and choose the pieces they’d like, and one of the team members—all of whom have also been trained in cutting and sewing—will help guide their in-house alterations, including tailoring, patchwork, embroidery, painting, and screen printing. Prices vary, but are democratic: The cost of a jacket with three interchangeable collars is $495, a silk A-line skirt is $195, and a smocked maxi dress starts at $575 and goes up $15 to include or swap out novelty fabrics.

There are also simple white t-shirts available for $15 that can be painted, screen-printed, or patched. The sales of the patches will go to charity, and some of the participating artists who've leant their work to the patches include Duke Riley, Chaz Guest, and Swoon. In addition to the Atelier Jolie base collection, there are also collections from sustainable fashion brands Bettter, Mitsugu Sasaki, WE-AR4, Mimi Plang, and Justin Smith, all of which can be tailored or altered to your liking.

Additionally, anyone is welcome to bring in their own vintage or headstock fabrics to the shop and the team members will help you create your own one-of-a-kind piece. As sales associate Peter Damas told me, "We want to be able to help them [customers] get something that feels like it's a quality piece but also something that they created."

"They're the makers, too," added Nora Bensch, another sales associate. "They're part of the creative process."

The back of the ground floor is where the screen printing and patching happens. It's also the only room that isn't painted white: when the team knocked down the outer walls of this area during renovation, they discovered graffiti-covered surfaced beneath with original artwork from Basquiat and others who worked there. Downstairs in the basement is the painting room, which is blank now but which they hope to splash with color in the coming months.

Upstairs is the proper atelier space, used for bespoke cutting and tailoring. It is light and airy with exposed wooden beams, three different hand sewing machines and a back dressing room that is painted entirely in gold. The furniture and fixtures throughout the entire building are all upcycled or vintage, and all of the pieces available for purchase are protected by Fairchain, which, as the Atelier Jolie team explained in a statement, is "a digital blockchain platform for fine art and collectables built to strengthen the connection between creators and the stewards of their work."

Atelier Jolie houses its own cafe, too, run by Eat Offbeat, an organization that empowers refugees through cooking. Within the cafe, visitors can sit at the craft table (an antique desk) to draw on patches or pick out vintage buttons and lace from the old silver filing cabinet at the back center of the room.

It's impossible to walk around the space without noticing the emphasis on creativity and community. As Jolie said, "There is so much happening that divides us, and it's essential that we create and share time together. One aspect of today's world is the push to be like others and follow trends. It doesn't lead to the place where one feels most alive."

She added, "Discovery and mistakes are essential for creativity. The once young punk in me wanted to push against what was normal and paint the walls with the people I love. I hope others do, too." Below, here's an exclusive look at Atelier Jolie's first collection, now available in the atelier and online, worn by young actors and performers.

Below, here's an exclusive look at Atelier Jolie's first collection, now available in the atelier and online, worn by young actors and performers.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATHAN WILEY

“I am thrilled to have the chance to have our first images worn by such brilliant performers as Daryl, Gabby, Sky, Antony, Jason, Tilly and Brody. It’s more a feeling and lifestyle than a clothing line. It’s a choice”- Angelina

Performers: Tilly Evans-Krueger & Daryl Tofa

Performers: Daryl Tofa, Jason Schmidt & Sky Lynch

Performer: Anthony Norman

Performer: Gabriella Beans

Performer: Brody Grant

Performer: Sky Lynch

Performers: Tilly Evans-Krueger & Daryl Tofa

Performer: Jason Schmidt

Yesterday I had a chance to be one of the first visitors at Angelina Jolie’s #AtelierJolie
It is a one-of-a-kind atelier with an emphasis on creativity and community.

Atelier is located at 57 Great Jones Street, New York, former studio of Jean-Michel Basquiat. pic.twitter.com/TPpkxC3z0H

— mizge (@mihailo____) December 8, 2023

harpers bazaar

Godmother of Women for Bees for GUERLAIN

BY ERICA GONZALES MAR 5 2021, 9:30 AM EST

Angelina Jolie is saving the bees and supporting women at the same time. The actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian was named the "Godmother" of the 2021 Women for Bees program, made in partnership with GUERLAIN and UNESCO, which will train women beekeepers from all over the world and empower them to be entrepreneurs.

The 30-day program begins on June 21, 2021 at the French Observatory of Apidology (OFA) in Provence. The training will be led by the OFA, aimed to teach participants about running their own apiaries, the protocols to sustain their bee colonies, how to become professional beekeeper-entrepreneurs, and more.

The goal is that in five years, 50 women will have gone through the program, 2,500 hives will have been built in 25 UNESCO biosphere reserves, and 125 million bees will have been restocked. Such reserves are located in countries including France, Italy, Russia, Slovenia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and China.

 
“GUERLAIN have a genuine commitment to the environment, sustainable development and the communities they work with. That’s what brought us together, and Women for Bees is a wonderful extension of that,” Jolie tells BAZAAR.com. As Godmother, she'll meet the beekeepers in training and track their progress.

"When women gain skills and knowledge their instinct is to help raise others," Jolie added in a statement. "I’m excited to meet the women taking part in this program from all over the world. I look forward to getting to know them and learning about their culture and environment and the role bees play in that. I hope the training will strengthen their independence, their livelihoods and their communities."

Bees are beneficial to agriculture; over 70 of the top 100 crops that provide 90 percent of the world's food are pollinated by bees, according to the Convention on Biological Diversity. But they can also stimulate the local economy, too. Beekeeping can provide a source of income and a financial resource, especially in disadvantaged areas.

Guerlain is proud to announce the #WomenForBees initiative, a Guerlain x @UNESCO partnership in collaboration with the French Observatory of Apidology. The program combines biodiversity, bees and female empowerment via a global female beekeeping entrepreneurship program. pic.twitter.com/9XcOYGuAIs

— Guerlain (@Guerlain) March 6, 2021

Thanks Felicity

Angelina Jolie sheds light on gender inequality as a root cause of conflict-related sexual violence in her latest interview with @BazaarUK. Read the full article below to learn more about what you can do to prevent gender-based violence. #CRSV @Refugees @UN_Women https://t.co/YqPHY0KOMK

— UN Action (@UNAction) December 23, 2020

Harpers Bazaar apparently left the original questions intact for this written Q&A unlike in a previous Q&A where the questions were obviously edited to make them more attention grabbing, resulting in an odd disconnect with her answers.

In contrast to her previous video chats which were all shot against a plain white wall that revealed little of her location, in this Zoom chat for RefuShe she evidently wanted to show she was in the DeMille.  She left the sliding door behind her half open to give a glimpse of its distinctive bright and airy foyer.  The outdoor portraits taken by Knox were also obviously shot in the DeMille and aerial photos taken of both the DeMille and Briarcliff on May 27 show more signs of recent activity in the DeMille.  The wood paneled room where she is sitting would be the DeMille's dining room -- unlikely to be where her computer is normally set up.  She chose the spot for what she can allow people to see.

The walls around her have been re-varnished to a more even, rosewood shade.  The floor of the expansive foyer has also been re-finished.  All the visible furnishings have been changed.  Shortly after they moved in to the DeMille in 2017, Angelina had an elaborate “parkour treehouse,” built and said that the kids helped decorate and pick out the furniture for the whole house. They had an agreement, "not everyone can agree on everything, but you have to try to like it if you don’t hate it. If you do hate it, you can overrule."  At the time, it was reported that they had further "plans for an extensive renovation that honors its Golden Age glory."  It appears that renovation has been completed.

"Decorating, house stuff, “that was always Brad’s thing.”

The children helped pick out the furnishings and decorations but the attention to detail in the revarnishing etc. and the interest in honoring the DeMille's Golden Age glory is easily from Brad who oversaw similar extensive renovations in Miraval and is an acknowledged architecture and film buff.


harpers bazaar uk

Angelina Jolie: Why protecting the vulnerable during the pandemic is crucial

In a rare interview, the actress and activist discusses the fallout of coronavirus and also shares what she's been watching, reading and listening to in lockdown.

JUN 12, 2020

Has this period of lockdown prompted you to reconsider what's truly important to you?

I was fortunate years ago to travel with the UN to frontlines around the world and put into perspective what really matters. Having six children, I am reminded daily of what is most important. But after almost two decades of international work, this pandemic and this moment in America has made me rethink the needs and suffering within my own country. I am focusing both globally and domestically; they are of course linked. There are more than 70 million people who have had to flee their homes worldwide because of war and persecution – and there is racism and discrimination in America. A system that protects me but might not protect my daughter – or any other man, woman or child in our country based on skin colour – is intolerable. We need to progress beyond sympathy and good intentions to laws and policies that actually address structural racism and impunity. Ending abuses in policing is just the start. It goes far beyond that, to all aspects of society, from our education system to our politics.

What advice do you have for teaching children about issues surrounding race and racism?

To listen to those who are being oppressed and never assume to know.

PORTRAIT TAKEN BY KNOX JOLIE-PITT

What have been some of the most faith-restoring things you’ve witnessed during lockdown?

The way people are rising. Saying that they are tired with the excuses and half-measures, and showing solidarity with each other in the face of inadequate responses by those in power. It feels like the world is waking up, and people are forcing a deeper reckoning within their societies. It is time to make changes in our laws and our institutions – listening to those who have been most affected and whose voices have been excluded.

What have been some of the most horrifying impacts of lockdown from your perspective?

I’m deeply worried about the impact of the pandemic and the global economic crisis on refugees. They are people who have been driven from their homes and countries by bombs, rape and violent persecution in all its forms, long before this virus. They live with xenophobia and racism and prejudice every single day and are some of the most vulnerable people in the world when it comes to the economic consequences of the pandemic.

The other horror is domestic violence. The reality before lockdown was that the most dangerous place for a woman to be was in her home. During lockdown, the abuse and level of violence has risen. Above all my concern is for the children. The number of children we know are being abused at this very moment keeps me up at night. There is a global health crisis for children from abuse, neglect and the effects of that trauma. And not nearly enough done to protect them.

Why do you think many have failed to take the extreme issues surrounding domestic violence seriously?

We still turn a blind eye to domestic violence. We often don’t believe survivors, we don’t put the rights of children first or take their trauma seriously. Our child-protection services are not adequately resourced and funded. They lack proper training. So do judges. In America, there isn’t even a nationwide register of child-abuse deaths or an agreed definition of death caused by maltreatment, meaning we can’t even track the scale of the problem effectively. It is my belief that not only those who commit the abuse but those who cover and dismiss it, must be held accountable. Everyone says that they are against domestic violence, but it is these kinds of very specific things we need to change – and the protection of children should be at the heart of it.

Millions of school- and college-aged young people have had their education disrupted by the pandemic. Are there some dangers that some children will never return to the classroom and if so, how do we guard against it?

When girls are out of school it leaves many more vulnerable to child marriage, child labour, sexual abuse and other violations of their rights. The pandemic looks set to have knock-on effects on girls in many countries. We know it but still there is inertia. The UN is warning that the pandemic could result in two million more cases of female genital mutilation and 13 million more child marriages over the next decade. That is horrific. There is no easy answer but sounding the alarm on this, urging governments to anticipate where girls are going to be most vulnerable and to act, is essential as a first step. And we shouldn’t buy into any rhetoric from leaders that says that other issues take priority. There is nothing more important.

PORTRAIT TAKEN BY KNOX JOLIE-PITT


You are a passionate advocate for change; what connects all the causes you support?

Human rights and equality. Some countries have more extreme circumstances, but the reality is that the struggle to live in safety and independence and to be able to work and provide for your family with dignity is the same fight everywhere, and it is getting harder for a lot of the most vulnerable people. Whether that is a refugee family or a family struggling with hunger and poverty in our own countries.

How did your partnership with Amnesty International on children’s books come about? What gave you the idea?

The reason rights do not reach a child in a country or home is that adults are blocking them.  So in many cases, the child cannot depend on the adults. We are working on a book to help children empower themselves. It’s about what to do when your rights are revoked or not granted at the outset. We want to help kids, who are so engaged now, to use their knowledge and fight for their rights and claim them.

What have you been reading or watching in isolation, and how have you found this helpful?

I am in listening mode most hours of the day. I follow Time magazine, The New York Times, the BBC World Service and BLM activists online. Most recently, I’ve watched the documentary I Am Not Your Negro about James Baldwin and the civil-rights movement in America. Before bed, I’ve been reading Unreasonable Behaviour by Don McCullin and reflecting on how journalism has changed in the last half a century.

What have you done to ease anxious thoughts during the pandemic?

Like most parents, I focus on staying calm so my children don’t feel anxiety from me on top of all they are worrying about. I put all my energy into them. During the lockdown, Vivienne’s bunny passed away during a surgery, and we adopted two sweet little ones who are disabled. They need to be in pairs. They are so gentle and it has helped to focus on their care with her at this time. And on the dogs, and snake and lizard…

What is your one wish for life post-lockdown?

That the focus on efforts to make structural change to protect vulnerable people stays at the centre of our discussions. That we don’t turn inward and we work with even more awareness of our shared humanity.

****



Looks like the starburst ring on her right ring finger.

A glimpse of Shiloh and the dogs

What the rooms looked like when the DeMille was listed for sale.

Aerial photos taken May 27, 2020

Thanks jordon932002

UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Reunites with RefuSHE Alumna Chantale Zuzi for World Refugee Day https://t.co/GN9k8U1zSt

— Harper's Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) June 12, 2020

Random

The Harper's Bazaar cover is for "the ultimate winter fragrance, Guerlain Mon Guerlain Intense Eau de Parfum."  So these quotes may have been prepared at the same time as those for the other Mon Guerlain Intense articles which appeared earlier.  Madame Figaro had similar quotes.  At least this one is in English. 😀  What is true for both:  She never mentions "divorce."  She makes no reference to the filing or the case.  She does not give so much as a hint of the incident on the plane, the children's trauma or the efforts to restore Brad's relationship with the children.

It says "she writes candidly." It does not say she responded to questions.  There was no interview nor correspondence between them, no actual Q&A.   She is characteristically direct even in live interviews.  HB and probably Madame Figaro and others altered the supplied questions to make them more attention-grabbing and thus don't align with her answers. If the questions printed below were the actual questions her prepared quotes were designed to respond to, her answers would have clearly addressed them instead of being oddly off target.

Aside from the rare glimpse of the intimately placed Whiskey Bravo for William Bradley tattooed on her right inner thigh, what is notable in what she did say:

"I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18. Right now I’m having to base where their father chooses to live." 

In Madame Figaro:

What does your life look like in Los Angeles?
I'm not really attached to this town. I'd rather travel more often, but it's not compatible today with Brad's work. I'm cooperating. 

Brad has to spend time in L.A. because that's where his therapist, AA meetings, Dr. Katz, and the mental health professionals who are guiding the effort to restore his relationship with the children are based.  She is where he needs to be because he needs her with him and she puts his needs ahead of her own wants because that is love.  When asked during MMoE's stop in Tokyo: Is there anything more powerful than love?  She answered, “Family.”  He is both.

Brad said:

"I’ve been thinking about that because I’ve been thinking about death, just in terms of, ‘Where do you want to spend that last leg of your life?  We settle in places or get sucked into a place sometimes because of a job or for family, speaking of which, my kids have probably eight more years of school to keep us relatively in one spot. But then comes a time where you think about where you want to spend that last period. For me, it would be somewhere in the mountains.”

They often live abroad -- they are living abroad now.   They are saying when the twins are in college -- when they are 18 -- they can hop around more freely without fear of disrupting their studies or having to have their tutors in tow.


"Sometimes you get hurt, you see those you love in pain, and you can’t be as free and open as your spirit desires."  -- She was hurt.  A "family member" said: “Her family is broken and she is in agony.  Her children are recovering from the events that brought about the filing” and that left them traumatized.   But in "you see those you love in pain" she is referring to Brad.  He had to deal with feelings of "no worth," tortured thoughts of "a horrible end," before ultimately, "forgiveness of self."  It is why she makes sure she is always there for him.  They haven't been free to talk openly about it much as they would want to.  But maybe soon.  "It’s not new or old, but I do feel the blood returning to my body."

When Josh Horowitz of MTV News asked her about the new ink, she offered merely, “Um, it’s for Brad.”

Harpers Bazaar

As we wrap up 2019, and look ahead to 2020, Harper’s BAZAAR chose Angelina Jolie to grace our final issue of the year because quite simply, there’s no one else like her. Jolie has spent nearly 20 years with the UN Refugee Agency fighting for the rights and freedoms of displaced people, and over 10 years funding schools for girls from Afghanistan to Kenya to Cambodia. She is a Visiting Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics, educating students on peace and security and the fight for women’s rights internationally. She champions women’s health—in particular, treatment for cancer—with honesty and openness about her own health experiences in years past.
Here, she writes candidly about “visible and invisible scars,” her fight for freedom around the world, and why she doesn’t mind sharing her new home in Cambodia with a family of chipmunks.

Petticoat rule. Giambattista Valli Haute Couture ball gown.


HARPER'S BAZAAR: We recognize in these photos the free-spirited, bold side of you we know from old. Is that a fair characterization?
ANGELINA JOLIE: My body has been through a lot over the past decade, particularly the past four years, and I have both the visible and invisible scars to show for it. The invisible ones are harder to wrestle with. Life takes many turns. Sometimes you get hurt, you see those you love in pain, and you can’t be as free and open as your spirit desires. It’s not new or old, but I do feel the blood returning to my body.

Do you feel like you’re finding yourself again?
AJ: The part of us that is free, wild, open, curious can get shut down by life. By pain or by harm. My children know my true self, and they have helped me to find it again and to embrace it. They have been through a lot. I learn from their strength. As parents, we encourage our kids to embrace all that they are, and all that they know in their hearts to be right, and they look back at us and want the same for us.

As a mother of six, in a world of social media on a public stage, under relentless scrutiny, how do you teach your kids to be bold?
AJ: Knowing our true self is a very important question for all of us. Especially a child. I think kids need to be able to say, “Here’s who I am, and what I believe.” We can’t prevent them from experiencing pain, heartache, physical pain, and loss. But we can teach them to live better through it.

Veil of perception. BEAUTY BAZAAR The ultimate winter fragrance, Guerlain Mon Guerlain Intense Eau de Parfum wraps you in sensual vanilla and spicy patchouli, $143.


As a public figure, how do you deal with the frustration of constantly being misunderstood? What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?
AJ: I have a tattoo, “A prayer for the wild at heart kept in cages.” I got it when I was 20. I was with my mom one evening, and I was feeling lost. I was restless—always. I still am. We were driving to dinner, and she talked about spending time with Tennessee Williams and how much she loved his words. She told me he wrote that, about the wild at heart. We drove to a tattoo parlor, and I got it inked on my left arm. What she did for me that night was to remind me that the wild within me is alright and a part of me.

I see so much beauty in other people. Not when they are pretending to be something other than their true selves. Not when they are harming others. Not when they lie. But the wild ones. The emotional, open, searching ones, longing to be free. The honest ones. Because anything else is a cage impossible to live in.

This is our end-of-year edition. Looking ahead to 2020, do you have a message for our readers?
AJ: My dream for everyone in 2020 is to remember who they are and to be who they are regardless of what might be disrupting their ability to be free. If you feel you are not living your life fully, try to identify what it is or who it is that is blocking you from breathing. Identify and fight past whatever is oppressing you. That takes many forms, and it is going to be a different fight for everyone. I say this with a deep understanding that for so many women, freedom is simply not an option. Their own system, community, family, government works against them and is part of what is shutting them down. I’m reading the book No Visible Bruises, which points out that between 2000 and 2006 more American women died from domestic homicide than American soldiers died on the battlefield. It is shocking that across the world the most dangerous place for women today is the home. There are still more than a dozen countries where violence against a wife or family member is legal. And more than 10 countries where perpetrators of rape can still escape prosecution if they marry the victim. And there are more than 70 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, including nearly 26 million refugees. None of this is just “the way the world is.” It is something monstrously out of balance. And our response can’t be to shrug or to think only about our own countries, because we are all connected. This is a time to fight. If there is a fight in this life, it must be for freedoms and rights. And if we have our freedom, we must fight for others who don’t.

Sounds rebellious
AJ: If nobody ever rebelled, nothing would ever change.

Change agent. BEAUTY BAZAAR Paint the perfect cat-eye using Guerlain Liquid Eyeliner in Noir Ebène, $44.


As a woman, what does it mean to be truly free? And to live boldly?
AJ: A life fully lived is very hard to do. And for many women it is impossible because of what they are up against. I am conscious every day that I have the freedom to speak openly and to make my own choices. And the ability to encourage my children to explore the world, including the world of ideas and expression, without there being limits to what they are allowed to study or know or imagine themselves doing in the future. I think we all know boldness when we see it. Nothing makes me smile more than when I see someone being fully themselves, with their own individual style and character, whatever that is.

How did you like to dress when you were younger?
AJ: 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. I remember the first time I wore PVC pants. I was waiting for an audition, sitting in the sun in L.A. By the time it was my turn, my pants had fused together. I didn’t get the part. But I loved those pants. I wore something similar when I married Jonny [Lee Miller].

Dreaming in red. Hermés swimsuit.
Sølve Sundsbø

Women often feel forced to live up to the standards of “the perfect mother” and “the perfect wife.” Do you think this idea of perfection is dangerous and damaging to women?
AJ: Labeling people and putting them into boxes isn’t freedom. Difference and diversity are what I value most—in my family and in others. I don’t want to live in a world where everyone is the same, and I imagine that’s true for everyone reading this. I want to meet people I’ve never met before and learn things I don’t know. The challenge today is to embrace our differences. And not to be fooled by efforts to divide us or make us fear others. We’re seeing a retreat of values worldwide. Many governments are less willing to stand up for the kinds of values that previous generations fought and died to secure. When governments stand back, people have to lead the way, as they are in different parts of the world.


Have you ever felt restricted in your own life?
AJ: I don’t think of myself that way. In my youth, I focused on what I didn’t have. But as I traveled in my early 20s, my awakening was realizing the freedoms I had in comparison to many people around the world. I’d experienced a childhood free of war. And since then I’ve had the freedom to build my family, to create art, and to play the characters I have. It’s one of the reasons I’ve invested in schools for girls in different countries. To see anyone—but especially a young girl with so much potential—denied their freedom is infuriating to me. I don’t think we will be living in a new era for women’s rights until there has been progress. Until people who’ve raped and abused women and girls in Syria and Myanmar and the DRC, for example, are held accountable. That’s why the focus for the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative is to push for an international accountability mechanism, a body that would allow us to overcome the barriers to justice so prosecutions happen.

Pucker up. Leg Avenue body stocking; Vince Camuto briefs; Gianvito Rossi pumps;
Sølve Sundsbø

Has there been progress in Hollywood, in light of #MeToo?
AJ: As anybody knows, the usual starting point in any situation like this is an independent inquiry by experts who can look into the facts and identify what legal changes and protections are needed so there is some measure of independent expert scrutiny and accountability. That hasn’t happened.

You built a home in the Cambodian jungle and became a Cambodian citizen. Can you tell us about that decision? What were some of the biggest challenges? And biggest rewards?
AJ: When you have a loud mind, as I do, you go to places that quiet you, and I find that in the desert, or in the jungle in Cambodia. When I first went to Cambodia, I thought people would be hardened by having experienced so much war and suffering. But in fact it was the opposite. I found them to be full of grace and fight and life. It’s a home and a headquarters for my foundation. There were physical challenges, though. We had to clear nearly 50 land mines before we could live there.

You have traveled the world as both an actor and a United Nations special envoy. What is your favorite place?
AJ: My favorite place is somewhere I’ve never been. I like to be dropped into the middle of something new. I enjoy being out of my element. I want the children to grow up in the world—not just learning about it but living it and having friends around the world. Next year we break ground on a home in Africa.

Cause célèbre. Bulgari Serpenti ring.
Sølve Sundsbø

Are you going back to Cambodia soon?
AJ: We got a call the other day informing us that chipmunks have moved into the house. They asked if we should remove them, and Vivienne was very clear that we needed to cover the wires and let them stay. However, the local snakes may have their own opinion on that. The last time I stayed there, I heard screaming down the hall because a friend had found a giant lizard under their pillow. Clearly, the animals are there more than I am and they feel it is their home.

You talk about wanting to encourage your children to explore the world, including the world of ideas and expression. Can you give a specific example of a time when you and your family personally butted up against these kinds of unspoken societal limits?
AJ: I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18. Right now I’m having to base where their father chooses to live.

You say you want freedom for others. What do you mean?
AJ: I do, and not just for those who are oppressed or living with limited rights. I often ask people, “What is it you’ve always wanted to do?” Ninety percent of the time it is an attainable goal and something they admit they could have already done. I think the challenge is to ask yourself what you’ve always wanted to do, and do it. Don’t just be comfortable with what is generally accepted, but find the new. Find your oxygen, your originality, your own voice. Live more fully. Rebel. Resist. Question. Be curious. Explore. Go outside what is comfortable to you. Say the thing you’ve been afraid to say. Put down this magazine, and go and do one thing today you’ve never done before.



ANGELINA'S MISSION
Angelina Jolie is Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, after 18 years with the agency, and Visiting Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics Centre for Women, Peace and Security. She is also cofounder of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, a global campaign against war-zone rape.


This article originally appears in the Dec-Jan 2019-2020 issue of Harper's BAZAAR, available on newsstands November 19.

Hair: Malcolm Edwards; Makeup: Val Garland; Manicure: Chisato Yamamoto; Production: LaLaLand; Set design: Max Bellhouse; Retouching: Digital Light Ltd.

Angelina Jolie Opens Up About Helping the Planet, Raising Strong Children, and Her Guerlain Perfume Campaign https://t.co/ewEVMTiefy

— Harper's Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) August 23, 2019

Her turn to very overtly show off the family tattoos: that's Brad, and then the twins, Shiloh...

Actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian Angelina Jolie added fragrance muse to her list of accomplishments last year when she became the face of Mon Guerlain. For the brand's latest video campaign and scent Mon Guerlain Intense (a bolder iteration on the best-selling perfume) Jolie traveled to her home in remote northwestern Cambodia. That's where Jolie's family foundation has worked for eighteen years to help conserve the environment and support local communities.

In this BAZAAR.com exclusive behind-the-scenes video and interview, Jolie opens up about working with Oscar-winning director Emmanuel Lubeski on the soft-meets-wild advertisement, raising strong children, and her various initiatives and commitments to help save the planet. “He [Emmanuel Lubeski] is one of those artists that finds beauty around them. He senses it, and adjusts to it. The first perfume commercial we did together, we wanted it to be authentic. I like the idea that you represent something that is truly like how you live in real life. I think people know that: when there’s truth or when there’s a fairy tale," Jolie says in the clip. "I think they prefer the truth.”

What did you want to express in this new Mon Guerlain film?

 

Femininity and freedom. Perfume commercials often project a fantasy life. We wanted to make something different, based on a real life. My home in Cambodia has been a dream of mine. I have worked there for 17 years with my foundation, and I recently finally built a home there. So the Guerlain team graciously came to Cambodia and we explored this feeling of freedom and femininity and making bold choices in life.

Was it difficult to bring Guerlain’s team to Cambodia?

 

No, they are quite adventurous. Part of what I’ve learned from Thierry [Thierry Wasser– Guerlain Master Perfumer] is that creating a perfume is so much about exploring other countries, cultures, scents and products from around the world.

What’s the story behind the music of the commercial, “Wild Things”?

 

The company chose the music. When we first met, we were getting to know each other, and talking about family and what it is to have a creative family. And at one point I mentioned that my uncle is a songwriter and that he wrote "Wild Thing."

Do you feel you have a wild side?

I think every woman has all facets to her personality. Often, we can’t be as soft and free or wild and open as we deserve to be. There’s a lot between us and our full potential. One of the things that I wanted to put across is that a woman’s freedom is not aggressive, it’s not anti-men, it’s not angry, it’s not just dark and sexy—it’s happy, it’s joyful, it’s female and it belongs to us.

Were you and Guerlain trying to express something specific about the image of women with this film?

One of the things we often don’t speak about, when we talk about women’s rights, is it is not only about women having the right to go to school, or to be safe within their homes, or to have certain freedoms. There’s also the right to be a woman, to be soft. We don’t want to have to fight every day, to challenge, to prove that we can work or be tough or raise our kids and do everything at once. We want the right to be soft. By nature, we’re very nurturing, soft and gentle creatures. It is our true nature, along with being very wild and everything else we choose to be.

The commercial is full of references to nature. And your home is set amid the Cambodian tropical forest. Is that something you wanted to express in the film?

We think of perfume as something in a bottle, but it’s really different materials and essences collected from around the world. So, it felt very natural that nature would be a part of a perfume commercial. It’s what really inspires it.

What is your best memory of the shoot?

We all sat together and did a blessing. Everybody’s always rushing when you make something like this. Everybody wanted to take a moment, be grateful, quiet and be in the country. It was very special.

Could you tell us more about your commitment in Cambodia?

The area where the film was shot was the first and last stronghold of the Khmer Rouge. It’s near the Thai border, where a lot of people took refuge. When they returned, they faced a huge problem with landmines. I started working in the country eighteen years ago with the UN, and then I met my son. I wanted this little place for him and I wanted to help the country in some way. We quickly realized that we had to protect the environment because in addition to the landmines in the ground there was a lot of illegal logging, gem mining, and poaching. Our foundation is Cambodian run. We have ten schools and two clinics. We’re all a family and work very well together. Cambodia has been through so much and is still trying to recover, but the people are so beautiful and so strong. We wanted to be part of helping the country move forward.

Can you tell us about your Bee Project with Guerlain?

I had a very humble, small beekeeping program. When Guerlain came, they said “we know something about bees, we might help.” They spent time with the local people and sent an ethno-botanist to Cambodia. We hope our new project will help create jobs and skills while protecting biodiversity in the area. If it goes well, we will see if we can replicate it in other areas. That’s all each of us can do: something small, make sure it works, and hope that through practice we can show that to be responsible with land is the better practice.

What are your daily small acts or gestures to help the planet?

I try to be responsible, but I’m not perfect in any way. With six children, it’s not easy to have some perfect idea of how to run a perfect home where everything is perfectly recycled. I do my best to explain to the children the importance of these things, to help them to understand, to educate them, to travel with them, to help them see how things are affected. My children spend a lot of time in places like Cambodia, Namibia and around the world, so they see the effects of damage done by waste. And I do have these projects around the world where I work with local people and try to empower them to be able to do more and take care of their environment.

Do you think you can help to change the world with an image or a fragrance?

No, but I think it’s important not to forget that side of ourselves. As women, we’re very busy, so sometimes putting on perfume might be the only moment we have to ourselves that day. It makes us feel female and it helps to remind us there’s something about us that deserves to be nurtured. I think that is more important than I realized when I first joined this campaign.

You share a lot of values with Guerlain. Do you have a specific memory connected to the House?

 

My mother didn’t have much time to take care of herself. She didn’t quite know how, which is why she wanted Jacqueline Bisset, my godmother, to be part of my life. She admired her intelligence, elegance, and grace. But the one powder she had was this Guerlain Ladies in All Climates and she wore it for very, very special occasions. It was a beautiful powder from Paris that made her feel like a lady, when she was busy raising kids as a single mom. It was one little hint of a life that she had dreamt of and wished for.

What is the main value you try to transmit to your children?

Kindness. They’re very strong individuals, they are very open-minded and very kind. I try to lead by example and to be as kind and gracious, and loving and tolerant, as my mother was. But also, when there’s a fight that needs to be had, I want them feel they have the strength. So, I hope they are learning to be kind, with a little bit of fight within them.

Can you tell us more about your future projects?

One of the projects I’m working on is a news program for children with the BBC WorldService and Microsoft Education. I am also working on a book project on children’s rights with Amnesty International, to help children understand their rights and how to put them into practice.

What do you like to do in Paris?

I like to talk to people in Paris. It’s such a special country culturally and historically. The kind of dialogue happening here in the city is very special. I feel very educated and very enlightened when I’m able to come here and sit and speak to people.

How would you sum up your life in one word?

Freedom, because without freedom you have nothing. Freedom of thought, freedom of movement, freedom for yourself and others. I am certainly aware that I have many more freedoms than most, so I’m very grateful.

What is the craziest thing you have done?

I hope that I am yet to do it.