The Angelina Jolie Effect: Unleashing Fashion's Thigh-High Slit Trend
Angelina Jolie's iconic thigh-high slit dress by Versace not only ignited the Angelina Effect, but also became a viral sensation with memes and playful tributes dedicated to her fashion statement
Rewind to the time when Angelina Jolie's right leg took the internet by storm, becoming a viral sensation.
Arriving at the 84th Academy Awards in 2012, the actress made a bold statement in a strapless black velvet dress by Atelier Versace. This was not just any gown. Featuring a daring thigh slit, it artfully unveiled nearly the entirety of Jolie's right leg as she posed confidently for the cameras, one hand firmly planted on her hip.
The pose that sparked countless memesand even social media accounts dedicated to Jolie's right leg.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Jolie, at the age of 36, was already a prominent figure on the red carpet. However, that moment launched her into internet fame, generating media attention, a series of memes, and even social media accounts dedicated solely to "the right leg."
But it wasn't just her thigh that captured the spotlight that night. Among all the elegant white gowns worn by other attendees like Gwyneth Paltrow and Milla Jovovich, Jolie stood out in black. It was a bold departure from the predominant icy color scheme at that year's Oscars - a contrast to the sumptuous white satin Versace gown she had worn a month earlier to the Golden Globes, which she had helped popularize.
The month before, Jolie had attended the Golden Globe Awards in a white satin number, also by Versace.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
During Jolie's presentation of the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, her on-stage leg reveal received a positive reception and even led to imitations by the award winners Nat Faxon and Jim Rash for "The Descendants." Rash clarified to reporters backstage that their imitation was meant to be a "loving tribute" rather than a mockery.
Jolie's Oscars gown received high praise from the fashion press, with The New Yorker's Judith Thurman declaring her the "best-dressed" of the evening for showing off her "to die for" legs, and Harper's Bazaar's Joyann King commending the actress for embracing her sultry side. Vogue's late editor-at-large André Leon Talley also celebrated how she made black velvet "super-sexy with a huge slash, totally eighties Versace style." However, not all critics were on board.
The leggy look received harsh criticism, with TIME magazine describing it as "boring" and giving a score of "right leg: 1, black dress: 0." A piece in Philadelphia Magazine called Jolie's posing "comical and pathetic," portraying her as "aloof, arrogant and snotty." The appearance of her slender leg even sparked uncomfortable and heated debates about the star's weight in tabloids and among TV pundits, with some suggesting she appeared frail. (Fox News anchor Bill OReilly even described her, on air, as "emaciated.")
Jolie struck the same pose on stage as she presented the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
In the court of public opinion, views were mixed. A parody Twitter account called @AngiesRightLeg, which has since been deleted, garnered over 34,000 followers in just two days, according to Reuters. The account posted phrases such as "Look at the leg!" and "You have to admit I'm one hell of a leg." On the other hand, a Glamour magazine survey found that around three-quarters of readers were "not into" Jolie's "pose-y stance."
Jolie later mentioned that she hadn't paid much attention to the hype. "I heard something, but I didn't pay any attention. It's as simple as being a woman picking a dress you like and having a night, and not really thinking about anything else," she told The Huffington Post the following month.
Years later, at the premiere of "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" in 2019, Jolie mentioned that the dress was selected for its comfort. "I believe that when you feel comfortable, when you feel like yourself - which is very much the theme of the film, and we know this in life - you embrace it," she shared with Extra on the red carpet.
Beyoncé Knowles sporting a thigh-high slit gown at the Met Gala the next year.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
The actress still managed to set a fall trend, as Balmain, Azzaro, and Jean Paul Gaultier featured thigh-high slits on their runways less than a month after the Oscars. Other stars, including Chrissy Teigen, Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, and Nicole Scherzinger, also embraced the trend, prompting The New York Times to coin the term "The Angelina Effect." Donatella Versace, the designer of the dress, later fondly reflected on her creation in The Wall Street Journal, noting that sometimes a dress becomes truly fantastic when worn by the right person.
Clearly, Angie was onto something and, as always, put her best footor legforward.
