When actress Sydney Sweeney stepped out in Angelina Jolie's legendary 2004 Oscars gown last year, the dress's original designer, Marc Bouwer, confessed to experiencing a wave of pure anxiety. He was deeply concerned that the new appearance could taint the legacy of one of the most celebrated red carpet moments in history.
The Weight of an Iconic Legacy
Two decades prior, Angelina Jolie's arrival at the Academy Awards in the iconic ivory satin halter gown marked a pivotal career turning point. Fashion experts have long hailed it as one of the best red carpet looks ever. Bouwer, who meticulously designed and preserved the dress for 20 years, had been hesitant to loan it to anyone, turning down numerous requests from other stars over the years because it never felt appropriate.
In an exclusive chat with the Daily Mail, Bouwer admitted his trepidation. "I was concerned because that dress is so iconic and it had so much great press written about it, I didn't want to destroy or taint that legacy of what we had created," he stated. The designer was nervous about how Sweeney, one of Hollywood's hottest new stars, would interpret the garment.
A Sigh of Relief
All of Bouwer's worries evaporated the moment he saw Sydney Sweeney in the dress. Sweeney wore the gown to the Vanity Fair Oscar’s After Party in March 2024, exactly twenty years to the day after Jolie's iconic appearance.
"I was nervous. But when I saw how beautiful she looked... She looked different [than Jolie] but she still had that old Hollywood glamorous vibe that I love so much," Bouwer recalled. "It really took my breath away. I breathed a sigh of relief, like, 'Yes, we did it, this is good.'"
He emphasised that Sweeney, a powerhouse celebrity, was the right person for the homage because she made the look her own without trying to emulate Jolie directly. "They each had their own vibe and own persona," he noted.
The Dress That Transformed a Career
The creation of Jolie's dress was itself a landmark moment for Bouwer. He recounted the memorable fitting in Los Angeles, which occurred during a dramatic lightning storm. "[Her son] Maddox was a baby at the time, she had him on her hip while fitting the dress, comforting him," he shared, describing the experience as wonderful and warm.
He also revealed that Jolie deferred to his judgement on accessorising, refusing to wear a very expensive diamond necklace without his approval. More significantly, Bouwer believes the gown completely reshaped Jolie's public image.
"It was a total image-changing look for her," he explained. "She had been known as the wild child of Hollywood... And all of a sudden she was perceived as a humanitarian. She was this angelic, beautiful woman on this red carpet." This shift is why he and many fashion editors consider it one of the best Oscar dresses of all time—the perfect dress on the perfect person at the perfect moment.
