Actress Angelina Jolie’s new fashion venture is open to the public inside a historic two-story building on the Lower East Side once owned by Andy Warhol and occupied by street art pioneer Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Atelier Jolie, which opened its grand opening in December, is part high-end retail boutique and part art space, billed on its website as “a place for creative people to collaborate with a diverse, skilled family of tailors, pattern makers and expert craftsmen from around the world. world” in a letter written by the Oscar-winning actress.
It also has a cafe, opened in partnership with Eat Offbeat, an organization that hires people from local refugee communities to prepare regional food from Syria, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Senegal.
The café serves a wide variety of dishes highlighting global food customs, including chicken yassa and katarica curry bowls and a range of fair trade coffees and teas. You even take orders on GrubHub.
The business staff is comprised in part of current students and graduates of the Parsons School of Design. Shoppers, who can visit by appointment only, will find items in a range of prices, from a $495 jacket with a trio of interchangeable collars to an A-line silk skirt for $195, according to Harper’s Bazaar.
Angelina Jolie cut the ribbon on her high-end retail boutique and art space in December 2023. Getty Images Atelier Jolie is part high-end retail boutique and part art space. Rick Davis / SplashNews.com
Also available are plain white t-shirts for $15 designed to be customized in-store with a variety of additional paints, screen prints, and patches.
Proceeds from sales of the patches go to charitable causes, as well as the artists who created them, the outlet said.
Jolie admitted that she will “probably lose money, maybe even for a while” at her store in a December interview with WSJ magazine.
“If I can eventually put in place some things that I think are improvements and just break even, it will be a big win,” he said.
Before the “Girl, Interrupted” star, 48, took over, the graffiti-covered building at 57 Great Jones Street was for rent with Meridian Capital Group for a whopping $60,000 a month. However, it was not immediately clear how much the actress, who reportedly signed an eight-year contract, pays to rent the space.
The Civil War-era structure has a storied history even predating its roots in the art scene.
Built in the 1860s, the building once served as the headquarters of infamous Five Points Gang ringleader Paul Kelly.
Jolie’s new fashion company is open to the public inside a historic two-story building on the Lower East Side that was once owned by Andy Warhol and occupied by street art pioneer Jean-Michel Basquiat. Matthew McDermott also has a cafe, opened in partnership with Eat Offbeat, an organization that recruits employees from local refugee communities. RCF/MEGA
From 1970 to 1990, the building was owned by Andy Warhol Enterprises Inc., which rented the second-floor studio to legendary neo-expressionist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who lived and worked there from 1983 to 1988.
Basquiat died of a heroin overdose at 57 Great Jones Street on August 12, 1988, aged 27. Since his death, Basquiat’s reputation as an artist has soared, and several of his works have sold for more than $100 million at auction.
Atelier Jolie is frank in acknowledging the delicate history of opening a commercial enterprise in such a high-rise building, saying on its website that it is “a privilege to be in this space.”
The team has also strived to maintain as much of its historic appearance as possible, preserving its familiar front panels adorned with peeling, sun-worn stickers and graffiti of varying quality.
Al Diaz, a Brooklyn artist and longtime friend and collaborator of Basquiat, was contacted by Jolie’s assistant after his team discovered a wall of graffiti he had created as part of a 2018 pop-up art exhibit held in space.
Also available are plain white t-shirts for $15 designed to be customized in-store with a variety of additional paints, screen prints, and patches. Rick Davis / SplashNews.com
Curious to learn more about her origins, the assistant invited Díaz to lunch at the expensive restaurant Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria right next to 57 Great Jones, a meal that Jolie herself attended.
“For someone who comes from where she comes from, Hollywood royalty, she was pretty normal,” Diaz told The Post on Monday, describing the “Maleficent” star as “elegant.”
He said she was “vague” about what she wanted to do with the building; “Maybe watched,” she added.
“When he described it it seemed more art-oriented, but it’s actually more fashion-oriented,” he said.
When asked how he felt about opening a business in the former home of his friend, who was known for rejecting the commercialization of his work, Díaz shared a pragmatic perspective.
“She’s using the historic prestige of the building, but so would anyone else who moved into that space,” Diaz said.
“Let’s face it: It’s a very desirable space that some people would like to see turned into a museum, but that seems unrealistic,” he said.
“You need money to get in, considering what it costs. “It would be nice if it were a museum, but I don’t see anyone getting up and doing that.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn