These are photos of Angelina Jolie with Zahara in New York, last week. Angelina Jolie clearly misses Zahara terribly. In Zahara's freshman year at Spelman College Angelina found any excuse to fly back to Atlanta and see her daughter. Angelina also arranged girls' trips to New York whenever Zahara was on vacation. I'm assuming that the trip Zahara took last week was a fun thing for her to do after her spring semester finished.

Jolie will resign from her role as UNHCR special envoy at the end 2022. She worked for the UNHCR in different capacities (for 21 years). We Jolie-stans were curious about what she was going to do next. Would she work for a smaller refugee agency? We're finally getting an answer...sort of. Angelina announced she was starting Atelier Jolie. This is a fashion group that will hire refugees and utilize refugee fashion designers.

The actress, former UN goodwill ambassador, and former special envoy, launches Atelier Jolie. It is a purpose-driven brand which will use deadstock, and tap into "refugees, and other talented and under-appreciated group, with positions of respect based on skills."

Jolie announced the news via her Instagram account. She wrote, "I am starting something new today - a collective where everyone is welcome to create. Atelier Jolie allows creative people from all over the world to work with a diverse and skilled family of expert pattern makers, tailors and artisans." The inspiration for this project comes from my deep appreciation for the tailors and makers that I have worked with throughout the years. It also stems from a desire for me to use the vintage and deadstock materials already available.

Every year, more than 100 millions tons of textile waste end up in landfills. Atelier Jolie appears to be designed to combat this crisis. The brand's website states: "You can repair or upcycle items from your closet that you want to revive. You will be able perfect fit, breathe new life into what was thrown out, and create quality heirloom clothing with personal meaning."

It is interesting that the mention of refugees was made last week, given the ending of Title 42. This pandemic-era policy allowed authorities to turn migrants back quickly on health grounds. Asylum seekers could reach record levels in the U.S. Jolie, Atelier Jolie or not, is uniquely positioned to make a difference in this field.

[From Vogue]

I wonder if the collective will be based in LA or internationally. How will they get their hands on the "deadstock", and how will this larger organization look? Angelina is a great actress, but this sounds like an enormous project. Maybe she has already hired refugee creatives for this massive undertaking. It'll be interesting to watch... a collective make sack dresses from deadstock. Please let those stylists who are refugees get Angelina to wear different silhouettes.

Backgrid is the source of these photos.