The internet has been ablaze this past week with Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy devotees under duress, after Ryan Murphy released screen-test imagery for his upcoming biopic, American Love Story.
In a series of images, actress Sarah Pidgeon, who has been cast to portray the publicist, eternal style icon, and wife of JFK Jr., is pictured wearing a series of items that have largely alarmed CBK's fervent fan club and, essentially, anyone who has any fashion knowledge.
Here is the thing: Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy is widely considered a religious entity in style circles. Her life and wardrobe has been canonized in ways comparable to Princess Diana and Jane Birkin, and in ways, the trajectory of her love story with JFK Jr. shaped up similarly to that of Diana's. She was fiercely followed by paparazzi, scrutinized by the press, and judged by her peers. She was also an inimitable It-girl, to the degree where there are countless blogs, Instagram accounts, and books dedicated to her life and sartorial sensibilities.
After the uproar that broke out last week, Ryan Murphy has since clarified via Puck's Lauren Sherman that the on-set paparazzi images and the screen test photos released to the public were merely stand-in moments for lighting purposes and other technicalities, and that very few of those wardrobe items—namely, the limp Birkin perched in the crook of Pidgeon's arm and the eerily modern camel coat she wears in the same frame—were what will actually be used.
"That is not the wig we’re using, that is not the purse we’re using. Those are just things we had to show the studio. It was a work in progress, but I released it, because sometimes you put things out and the paparazzi backs off, so your actors don’t feel attacked," Murphy explained to Sherman. "I was naive about the screen test. I had no idea that people cared as much as they do, but I guess that’s a good thing."
While a level of reassurance from the director himself certainly quells certain fears regarding the portrayal of such an important figure in fashion's lexicon, an anxious feeling lingers around the question of how such an elusive woman's energy could possibly be captured in a contemporary production. How will Ryan Murphy be able to emulate someone who is both ephemeral and eternal?
“There’s a mystery about Carolyn which is really important; she was very private. That’s what the attraction is with people because nobody knows who she is still,” author Sunita Kumar Nair, who wrote "CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, A Life in Fashion," told Coveteurin 2023. “Artistically, creatively, and stylistically, you can imprint parts of what you think she is to her. That’s why she still reigns in this day and age.”
Something to note as we meditate on CBK's legacy: Kumar Nair was right when she talks about Bessette-Kennedy's mystery. There are no recorded formal interviews with her, and there are few videos or voice clips available to the public. Despite what many people feel they know about her, she was as enigmatic of a public figure as one could possibly be. What we do know about her, is recorded through a catalogue of her looks.
This is a woman who used clothing and style as a form of control. Control of her public perception, how she felt, how she presented herself to the world, was constantly in communion with her wardrobe. Without words, Bessette-Kennedy revealed certain things about herself through her dress. When we apply this lens to the images Murphy released, where so many things just felt egregiously off, it's understandable why the public response is so emotional.
To celebrate Bessette-Kennedy's inimitable style legacy, we ground Bessette-Kennedy's looks in fashion history and showcase the brands she actually loved ahead.
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Bessette-Kennedy's stylistic love affair with Miuccia Prada, especially throughout the mid '90s, is well documented. Here, she wears a coat similar to one from Prada's Spring/Summer 1997 show.
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Above is another Prada moment, where Bessette-Kennedy wears a skirt and V-neck sweatshirt from Prada's Fall/Winter 1996 collection.
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In a rare street style shot, Bessette-Kennedy is photographed with JFK Jr. in a Miu Miu dress from the brand's Spring/Summer 1996 collection.
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Bessette-Kennedy's obsession with this particular cut of Prada coat from 1996-1997 knew no bounds, with this red tweed version from Prada's Fall 1996 collection, and the below shape that appears to be a similar silhouette to one from the brand's Spring 1996 collection.
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This iconic CHANEL Camelia sundress was originally from the CHANEL 1996 Cruise show by Karl Lagerfeld.
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Another designer that is synonymous with Bessette Kennedy's legacy is Yohji Yamamoto, which she favored for formal events in particular. At a benefit for the Whitney in 1999, she wore a now-iconic white shirt from the brand's Homme collection, tucked into a ruffled black skirt from the Spring 1999 women’s collection.
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Here, Bessette-Kennedy is pictured wearing a ruffled coat from Yohji Yamamoto's Spring/Summer 1999 collection.
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Bessette-Kennedy wore a Yohji Yamamoto strapless dress to the Municipal Art Society Gala in 1998. Yohji-san's spokesperson once confirmed that Bessette-Kennedy had a “very strong relationship with the house from 1996 until 1999.” GQ reports that the two never met, but the designer left a memorial message to WWD when she passed away.
