An Iconic Artist’s Studio Reborn
Actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie is transforming the Manhattan studio space once used by Jean-Michel Basquiat into a fashion atelier. Jolie plans to establish a couture fashion house in the historic art studio where Basquiat created many of his most seminal 1980s works before his untimely 1988 death.
By revitalizing the creative space over 30 years later, Jolie aims to carry on the artistic spirit of Basquiat’s gritty, graffiti-inspired neo-expressionism in an unlikely new medium of high fashion couture.
Couture Infused With Street Style
Jolie envisions the fashion house as an juxtaposition of Basquiat’s raw, urban aesthetic and the elegance of couture gowns and formalwear. The designs will blend street influences like graphic prints, found objects, and reclaimed materials with sophisticated construction.
Shooting for the inaugural collection is already underway within Basquiat’s old studio itself, using its peeling walls and partially-destroyed interiors as backdrops.
Preserving Through Transformation
By repurposing rather than renovating the space, Jolie aims to maintain its authentic decaying character. This allows the fashion house to organically inherit Basquiat’s creative soul while giving the studio new life as another form of artistic expression.
Jolie also plans to work with museums to exhibit Basquiat’s works within the new atelier, full circle from their original creation there.
The Medium Changes But Creativity Endures
Thirty years after Basquiat pushed boundaries from his gritty downtown studio, Jolie’s couture house aspires to channel that same unconventional spirit of innovation. Though the mediums differ, she hopes to carry forward the creative torch by establishing a one-of-a-kind fashion house in that same raw, inspirational space.
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