Angelina Jolie Wears a Simple Dress to Deliver a Bold Message
There are few stars who can command a red carpet with nothing more than their presence. Angelina Jolie is one of them.
At the San Sebastian Film Festival premiere of her new fashion drama, Couture, Jolie returned to one of her most enduring red carpet signatures: the simplest of black gowns. The actor slipped into a floor-length velour number that featured a rather minimal silhouette. Up top, there was a plunging V-neckline that trailed into a dramatic maxi skirt. Jolie, never one to over-style her ensembles, kept accessories to a minimum. She paired her dress with pointed-toe stilettos and chandelier earrings and sported a coral lip and auburn, chest-length hair.
Clean lines have long defined Jolie’s red carpet aesthetic. At the TIFF premiere of Couture, the actor arrived in a sharply tailored trench by Gabriela Hearst with a dramatic leg slit, a nod to the refined elegance she’s made her signature.
In Couture, Jolie plays Maxine, an American filmmaker working on a project during Paris Fashion Week when she finds out she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer. (Jolie’s mother battled breast cancer, and the star underwent a preventative double mastectomy in 2025). While other stars may use the film’s setting as an excuse to frolic in high fashion fantasy on the red carpet, Jolie is keeping it simple and to the point. Indeed, the actor and humanitarian was asked directly about American politics in Spain.
“It’s a very difficult question,” Jolie began during a press conference, adding “I have to say that I love my country and I don’t, at this time, recognize my country. I’ve always lived internationally. My family is international. My life, my world view, is equal [and] united. Anything, anywhere that divides or limits personal expressions and freedoms [for anyone] I think is very dangerous.”
She continued, “I think these are such serious times that we have to be careful not to say things casually. So I’ll be careful in a press conference…But these are very, very heavy times.”
