Leather, Legacy, and a Look That Changed Everything: The Iconic 2005 Angelina Jolie Versace Gown
On June 7, 2005, Angelina Jolie stepped onto the red carpet at the Mann Village Theatre in Los Angeles for the premiere of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a film that would cement her status not only as a leading Hollywood actress but also as a fashion icon. Dressed in a body-skimming black leather Versace gown with a daring slit, delicate neckline, and crisscrossed open back, Jolie redefined what it meant to be sexy on the red carpet. The moment was more than just another celebrity style statement—it was the beginning of a legacy that would influence fashion trends for decades to come.
Twenty years later, the ripple effects of that evening still reverberate through the corridors of red carpet fashion. The gown—edgy yet elegant, understated yet unforgettable—helped forge a new template for how actresses could present themselves in public. It balanced bold sexuality with old-school glamour, and in doing so, captured the complicated persona Jolie had begun crafting: part rebellious outsider, part sophisticated movie star.
But to understand the true significance of that leather Versace dress, one must go beyond its glossy surface to examine what it represented—about Jolie, about the era, and about the future of celebrity fashion.
Angelina Jolie: The Making of an Enigma
By 2005, Angelina Jolie was already a global phenomenon. The daughter of actor Jon Voight and actress Marcheline Bertrand, Jolie had spent her formative years in the public eye. But she was never content to play by Hollywood’s rules. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, she became as well known for her gothic style, tattoos, and blood-vial necklaces as she was for her Oscar-winning performance in Girl, Interrupted (1999). At red carpet events, she was often seen in dark, unconventional clothing—leather pants, low-slung skirts, and tank tops that seemed to flaunt the industry’s conventions.
Her relationship with Billy Bob Thornton further intensified her “wild child” persona. Their notorious PDA, including the infamous interview where Thornton graphically described their limo trysts, painted Jolie as a fearless, raw, and sometimes scandalous figure in a Hollywood that preferred polish over provocation.
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So when she arrived at the Mr. & Mrs. Smith premiere, the transformation was palpable. She was still wearing leather, a nod to her rebellious past, but the cut, the tailoring, and the refined details of the dress announced a new chapter. This wasn’t the Jolie of the MTV Movie Awards anymore. This was a woman stepping into her power—and doing it with style.
The Dress: Anatomy of a Moment
The 2005 Versace gown was a masterclass in design. Made of buttery black leather that hugged Jolie’s curves, the dress featured vertical seams down the front that elongated her silhouette. A sheer black neckline added an element of softness and mystery, while the thigh-high slit offered just the right amount of drama as she walked.
The open back was a showstopper in itself. Two thin, crisscrossed straps turned what could have been a heavy or overly aggressive material into something surprisingly delicate. The overall silhouette was sleek, elegant, and modern—an ideal blend of old Hollywood glamour and early-2000s edge.
Jolie completed the look with a voluminous blowout, minimal makeup, and simple diamond earrings. Her makeup was neutral-toned, letting her natural beauty shine through. This combination created a paradoxical effect: she looked both unattainable and relatable, dangerous and divine.
It was this balance—between softness and strength, edge and elegance—that would come to define Jolie’s style for years to come.
Fashion as Persona: From Tomb Raider to High Fashion Muse
Angelina Jolie’s evolution was always intrinsically tied to her roles. In Tomb Raider (2001), she wore fitted tank tops and tactical pants, merging the world of action film with a kind of utilitarian sex appeal. Her character, Lara Croft, was a digital-age adventurer who didn’t just break into tombs—she broke the mold of what female action heroes could look like.
At the premiere of Tomb Raider, Jolie wore wide-belted leather pants and a tight-fitting top. It was raw, overtly sexual, and emblematic of her status at the time: a bad girl who didn’t care for approval. But by 2005, with Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a film where she starred opposite Brad Pitt, Jolie was reinventing herself—not just as an actress, but as a woman in control of her narrative.
Her leather Versace gown was “method dressing” before the term had entered the lexicon. It echoed her character Jane Smith, a highly-skilled assassin who hides her lethal power behind the façade of suburban elegance. Jane wore sleek black dresses, concealed weapons, and carried an aura of quiet danger. Jolie’s dress that night seemed less like a costume and more like a declaration: this is who I am, both on screen and off.
Brangelina and the Age of Obsession
The Mr. & Mrs. Smith premiere was also the official beginning of the “Brangelina” era. Rumors had already swirled that Jolie and Pitt had fallen in love on set, despite his marriage to Jennifer Aniston. Their undeniable chemistry, both on and off screen, made the film a box office hit and the couple a global fascination.
That night, as Jolie glided down the red carpet in leather while Pitt wore jeans and a bomber jacket, the contrast only amplified her allure. She wasn’t just playing the femme fatale—she was living it. Pitt, laid-back and effortlessly cool, became the accessory to her grandeur.
From that moment on, every public appearance of Jolie’s was dissected not only for fashion but for meaning. Was she signaling something? Was she pushing boundaries? Or was she simply being herself?
The Legacy of Leather: From Jolie to Gen Z
Fashion is cyclical, but certain moments are timeless. Jolie’s leather Versace dress didn’t just influence red carpet fashion in the mid-2000s—it laid the groundwork for a generation of stars to reinterpret and expand upon.
In the years since, we’ve seen echoes of Jolie’s iconic look on countless red carpets:
- Miley Cyrus wore a slashed leather gown to the 2025 Grammy Awards, with a front slit reminiscent of Jolie’s.
- Dua Lipa, a known Versace muse herself, donned a leather corseted gown to the Brit Awards in 2024.
- Florence Pugh channeled Jolie’s aesthetic during the press tour for Thunderbolts in 2025, wearing minimalist leather with a high-fashion edge.
- Kim Kardashian and Olivia Rodrigo took the BDSM-coded elements even further, wearing studded, structured leather gowns designed by Ludovic de Saint Sernin.
But even as these stars reinterpret the leather dress in their own way, the blueprint is undeniably Jolie’s.
Leather as Liberation
Leather has long held cultural significance. It’s been associated with rebellion, sex, danger, power, and nonconformity. For women in particular, it has served as both armor and weapon. When Angelina Jolie wore that Versace gown in 2005, she wasn’t just wearing leather—she was owning it, redefining it, and weaponizing it for empowerment.
Jolie wasn’t trying to fit into the mold of the ingénue. She was a mother, a global activist, and an actress at the height of her career. And yet, she could walk into a room and make it hers—not through sheer skin, but through presence.
That Versace dress was her call to arms: that a woman can be many things—sexy and serious, elegant and edgy, maternal and mysterious.
Twenty Years Later: A Cultural Snapshot
Rewatching the footage from that 2005 red carpet today is like peering into a time capsule. The fashion was on the cusp of transformation; the media was ravenous for scandal; the world was obsessed with celebrity love triangles. And amid all that, a woman walked into a theatre in black leather and changed the way we think about what it means to dress—and live—authentically.
For all the stylists, designers, and fashion historians who continue to dissect red carpet looks, few moments have the staying power of Angelina Jolie in that Versace gown. It wasn’t just fashion. It was a cultural moment, an inflection point, and a masterclass in image reinvention.
Conclusion: Beyond the Dress
While the leather Versace gown remains a fashion landmark, its significance lies in what it represents about transformation, power, and narrative control. Angelina Jolie didn’t just wear a dress that night—she wore her story. One of reinvention, resilience, and reclamation.
She taught the world that leather could be more than provocative—it could be poetic. And in doing so, she left behind a legacy that is stitched into the very fabric of modern red carpet history.
Twenty years later, that legacy still lives—and shines—like polished black leather under a camera flash.
Source: CNN
