EXCLUSIVE: Angelina Jolie Talks Joining Sustainable Brand Another Tomorrow as a Strategic Advisor
PARIS — Angelina Jolie has joined the advisory board of sustainable ready-to-wear brand Another Tomorrow, the company founded by former finance executive Vanessa Barboni Hallik, as Strategic Advisor.
“One of the biggest changes I’m seeing is that people working in sustainability are finding ways to partner, and I’m joining the Another Tomorrow advisory board because Vanessa is building a different path in this industry,” said Jolie.
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“She saw all the shortcomings and roadblocks that have long been accepted as rote, and she is taking them on and modeling how to work differently. To be part of this momentum is exciting to me, and for the outcome to be elevated clothing that comes from a thoughtful and humane supply chain makes it all the more beautiful,” Jolie added.
Barboni Hallik launched Another Tomorrow in 2020 with people, the environment and animal welfare as touchstones, and it fast became a favorite among celebrities — Jolie included — for its timeless classics and sustainable credentials.
The company focuses on sustainable sourcing and supply chain transparency, and utilizes digital ID technology that supports traceability and authenticated resale to promote circularity.
A humanitarian, activist and former UNHCR goodwill ambassador and special envoy, Jolie launched her own label, the deadstock and upcycled-centered Atelier Jolie, last May.
The strategic partnership between Barboni Hallik and Jolie is set to foster knowledge and resource exchange, as well as community building, and together they will work to build an environmentally friendly supply chain from the ground up. Through their brands, both leaders want to make the apparel industry more innovative and sustainable, and make that sustainability scalable and a viable business model.
“Behind every garment created is a value chain: an intricate ecosystem including nature, energy, people, and often animals — which tend to be overlooked as part of the historically extractive and opaque fashion industry,” said Barboni Hallik. The brand works closely with its suppliers to reduce its environmental footprint.
“Angelina’s deep humanitarian commitment and her expansive vision are a consistent source of inspiration for me as Another Tomorrow seeks to redefine a responsible and resilient future for fashion. She challenges us to expand the boundaries of possibility, to operate in an enhanced spirit of determination and collaboration. All the while fostering and supporting a community of incredible aligned artists and designers like Mimi Plange,” she added.
Ghanian-born designer Plange hosted her first workshop at Atelier Jolie’s New York City location earlier this month as part of its ongoing program to bring in a wide range of creative voices.
The space is part retail, part gallery and part café, the latter of which is co-operated with refugee organizations. It also offers repair and upcycling services.
Jolie has a history of partnering with sustainable lines. She collaborated with French fashion house Chloé while Gabriela Hearst was at the helm on Atelier Jolie’s first capsule.
During Paris Fashion Week, Another Tomorrow presented its latest smart workwear-focused collection. As part of the brand’s commitment to animals, it does not use leather, conventional silk, down or exotic skins. Instead, the fall 2024 collection featured plastic-free bio-based leather made from upcycled bio waste, no-kill silk and seaweed-based SeaCell, among other textile innovations.
Another Tomorrow is also active in supporting legislation to regulate the fashion industry, including proposed laws addressing sustainability, animal welfare practices and the use of agricultural insecticides in cotton farming.
The brand raised $2 million in series A funding from Swiss early growth impact fund Una Terra in March, and Una Terra founding partner and chief executive officer Luca Zerbini also joined the Another Tomorrow board at that time.
Barboni Hallik brought Proenza Schouler and Derek Lam vet Elizabeth Giardina on board as creative director in 2022 as the line seeks to up its fashion quotient alongside its sales reach. Key retailers include Bergdorf Goodman, Holt Renfrew, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Selfridges in the U.K., among others, as well as its own e-commerce.
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