At the 61st Venice Film Festival, Angelina Jolie proves that jeans can be dressed up—even on the red carpet.&nbsp;&nbsp;

L’HISTOIRE explores fashion history moments you should know, from what actors wore on a red carpet to celebrities who made cameos on the runway. Some are unsung, and some are better known. Each is part of the fabric of today’s fashion world, be it barrier breakers or culture makers.

Hollywood is gearing up for the 83rd Venice Film Festival, which runs from September 2 to September 12 and opens with Danny Boyle’s highly anticipated drama,&nbsp;Ink.&nbsp;
Filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal has been named as the jury president of the Venice Film Festival—in 2021 she won Venice’s Best Screenplay prize for The Lost Daughter, and this year her 17-minute short film,&nbsp;Flesh Impact, debuts at the festival, starring Dakota Johnson as Marilyn Monroe.&nbsp;
As Hollywood's finest are preparing to celebrate everything <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/venice-film-festival-2026-lineup-most-anticipated-movies-directors-actors-dates">cinema and spectacle</a> in Venice this September, it's worth revisiting a memorable and iconic look from one of the industry's favorites: Angelina Jolie, in 2004 for the world premiere of Shark Tale at the 61st Venice Film Festival.
Featuring the voices of Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, and Martin Scorsese, the family-friendly adventure movie became the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2004 and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 77th Academy Awards.
Jolie has had her fair share of standout red carpet looks over the years. No one can forget the stunning platinum dress for the Eternals premiere in 2021, or her iconic black strapless gown for the 2012 Oscars, both looks from Versace. But at the world premiere for Shark Tale, Jolie showcased the ultimate early 2000s power move—jeans on the red carpet.&nbsp;
The actress paired her slightly flared bootcut jeans with gold heels and a simple white tank, layered under a richly embellished cropped bolero-inspired top. She accessorized with dainty, golden drop earrings and a stack of gold bracelets to complete the look.&nbsp;

A very off-duty look, Jolie and Will Smith are photographed at the Carlton Beach Pier in Cannes, wearing t-shirts and jeans under life-jackets while sitting on a blow-up beach toy to promote their film “Shark Tale.”  Getty Images.

While jeans aren't usually considered to be Jolie's signature red carpet uniform, she's no stranger to effortlessly pulling off a casual-chic outfit. At the time, denim, especially a low-rise look, ruled in the early 2000s, with stars like Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Keira Knightley all embracing jeans as a fashion favorite for the red carpet.&nbsp;
Not that long after the Venice Film Festival, Angelina Jolie donned denim once again for Shark Tale's New York premiere at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater. For the occasion, she paired her bootcut jeans with red heels and a striking leopard-print trench coat designed by Michael Kors for Céline.&nbsp;

A true Y2K look with an elegant spin: the recently chestnut-haired bombshell wears the ever-popular cheetah coat, flared jeans, and red kitten-heels  to the New York Premiere of a “Shark Tale.” Getty Images.

20 years later, Jolie appeared again at the Venice Film Festival in 2024 for her film <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/angelina-jolie-maria-callas-movie">Maria</a>. She traded her boho-chic Y2K look from two decades prior for a standout ensemble that channeled old-Hollywood glitz and glamour. On the red carpet, Jolie stunned in a custom beige-colored Tamara Ralph gown with a matching fur stole and a bold red lip.&nbsp;
In Maria, she starred as the legendary opera singer <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/erdem-fall-winter-2024-lfw-show-images">Maria Callas</a>, and her performance received an eight-minute standing ovation—a long <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/history-of-standing-ovation-venice-film-festival-record-longest-applause">ovation</a> from audiences that has now become a beloved film festival tradition over the years. Jolie confessed she had never sung before this role. "I was terribly nervous; I spent almost seven months training," the Oscar-winning actress said in a press conference before Maria's premiere, as reported by People.&nbsp;

Angelina Jolie at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. Getty Images.

Directed by Pablo Larraín,&nbsp;Maria reimagines the opera singer in her final days as she reckons with her identity and life in 1970s Paris.&nbsp;Maria premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was later released in select theatres before coming to Netflix. The film was nominated for the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion Prize. It also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.
While Jolie isn't confirmed to appear at this year's Venice Film Festival, fashion fans are certainly standing by for an appearance from one of Hollywood's most notable sartorial stars.&nbsp;

L'HISTOIRE: Angelina Jolie Styles Denim at the 2004 Venice Film Festival

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