What Do Brad Pitt and This Genderless Denim Brand Have in Common?
What do Brad Pitt and cult-favorite Los Angeles genderless denim brand 69 have in common? The answer, remarkably, lies in acclaimed contemporary artist Christina Quarles. This past weekend Quarles, whose molten figurative paintings were included in the Hammer Museum’s biennial last year and group exhibits at the New Museum the year prior, opened a solo show at major L.A. gallery Regen Projects. For the occasion, she wore an eye-catching custom 69 dress, made of denim (of course) that was then covered all over in sequins. Which is a good job, too, since none other than Brad Pitt showed up on the scene.
According to 69’s anonymous designer, Pitt frequents Regen Projects and has long been a big fan of Quarles’s work, but this was their first real-life meeting. It’s no surprise that Pitt is an admirer: In addition to being one of the most famous actors in the world, Brad Pitt is also an avid art collector. At the time that he and Angelina Jolie announced their separation in 2016, their shared château in the South of France housed works by street artist Banksy, sculptor Richard Serra, and Canadian artist Marcel Dzama, to name just a few, and their entire collection added up to a whopping $25 million. Pitt is something of an aspiring artist himself: In an interview with GQ published in 2017, Pitt revealed that he was squatting in sculptor (and friend) Thomas Houseago’s studio, trying his own hand at the practice, using everything from clay, plaster, rebar, and wood.
The anonymous designer behind 69 had their own take on Quarles and Pitt’s encounter. They posted an image of Quarles and Brad at the show with the caption: “Brad asking @cequarles who made her dress.” The designer has made several custom 69 pieces for Quarles, but this celebrity fashion moment was a first. “I was just viewing it from the other side of the room. It was cool for me because I want to stare at Brad Pitt and I also want to stare at the dress that I made, and those two things came hand in hand for about five minutes!” the designer exclaimed over the phone from L.A. following the event. “Somebody showed me that photo and that’s the context I gave it, in my fantasy,” the designer said of the imaginative Instagram caption. “I don’t think it matters who you are—Brad Pitt is always just going to be exciting. I don’t know what it is about him. He’s really great.”
While 69’s utilitarian designs don’t necessarily align with Pitt’s Hollywood aesthetic, the designer still admires the actor’s classic wardrobe. “He’s such a classic motorcycle man,” they said. “In fact, I tried to catch a whiff of him as he was passing by me and he totally smelled like a motorcycle and cigarettes, like a ’50s greaser.”
That classic masculinity doesn’t quite recall 69’s playfulness, but it’s not totally out of bounds to imagine Pitt wearing one of the brand’s designs. Way back in 1999, right around the time he played the role of Tyler Durden in Fight Club, Brad Pitt graced the pages of Rolling Stone in a number of surprisingly flattering frocks. He showed off his toned arms in a pink-lined sequined minidress, he smoked a cigarette in an autumnal number printed all over with sunflowers and vases, and last but not least, he wore a chic high-neck woven shift in a lunar landscape alongside some piglets. The only type of dress he hasn’t worn just yet? One entirely made from denim.
