Donatella Versace reveals why ‘viral’ Angelina Jolie Oscars dress was one of her favourite red carpet moments

‘The leg went viral, the image went everywhere,’ designer says

Donatella Versace has shared one of her favourite Oscars red carpet fashion moments, with the designer recalling the “viral” reaction to Angelina Jolie’s 2012 Academy Awards gown.

Versace, 67, discussed Jolie’s black strapless Atelier Versace gown, which featured a slit through which the actress’s leg could be seen, during an interview with WSJ Magazine.

“Angelina [Jolie] with a black ball gown when she pulled her leg out,” Versace said when asked about some of her favourite red carpet moments. “The leg went viral, the image went everywhere.”

The designer added: “Sometimes you don’t know which dress is the best, but when you see someone wearing the dress it can become fantastic.”

The moment in question took place during the 84th Academy Awards, when Jolie, wearing red lipstick and her hair down, posed on the red carpet in the black gown with her hand on her hip and her leg stretched through the slit.

As noted by Versace, the fashion moment went viral, with a Twitter account @Angiesrightleg dedicated to the actress’s fashionable pose accumulating more than 14,000 followers by the end of the night, according to People.

Jolie reflected on the now-famous gown while speaking to Extra in 2019, where she revealed that she’d been deliberating between two dresses before the Oscars, but had ultimately decided to go with the one that was more “comfortable”

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

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“There’s a whole longer story behind that - I had a more complicated dress and I wore the more comfortable dress, which was that one, and I think I was just so comfortable that... I think when you feel comfortable, when you feel yourself - which is very much the theme of the film, and we know this in life - you embrace it,” she said. “And sometimes, maybe it appears to be a thing, I don’t know.”

During her interview with WSJ Magazine, Versace also opened up about her late brother Gianni’s relationship with the red carpet, and how he felt about dressing stars.

According to Versace, her brother, the founder of Versace, knew the importance of dressing celebrities on the red carpet, but was also “very shy,” so she was the one who would do the talking.

“He was very shy, Gianni. In all of our relationships with actresses, it was me who had to do the talking. Gianni would say to me: ‘I’d like to see her in that dress.’ And then I would go to tell her to try it on,” the designer said. “Gianni thought that if you dress a star, some of the stardust will stay with you.

“He understood the power of celebrity and power of stars on the red carpet.”

As for the brand’s relationship with red carpet dresses now, Versace said that “Versace started on the red carpet” and that “now every fashion house understands the importance of the red carpet”.

However, she noted that what she cares more about now is “seeing young generations wear Versace”.