Why the simple wedding dress from Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy changed the bride’s clothing codes forever
Publisher’s note: Immerse in the archives of the history of pop culture, “remember when?” is a series of CNN style offering a nostalgic look at celebrity outfits that have defined their eras. Watch the original CNN series in three parts “American Prince: JFK Jr.” Premition on August 9 at 9 p.m., and / PT and performing the following two Saturday evenings.
In 1996, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. were married outside a peeling white log chapel on the island of Cumberland, in Georgia. Without a paparazzi and without media, he offered the couple a brief moment of normality before reappearing in the world as one of the most famous couples on the planet.
Although it is often called American royalty, Bessette-Kennedy did not come to their big day in a foamy princess dress. Instead, she used the time to establish her own clothing standard – by wearing a dress that upset traditional bridal trends and would continue to inspire for decades to come.
His simple white slip dress was made of silk and cut on the bias, with a cover of hood that is bloomed. The look was finished with a silk tulle veil, sandal sandals Manolo Blahnik in crystal and a pair of transparent elbow gloves. Her dress was designed by her friend, the fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez. For some, the decision was surprising. Bessette-Kennedy was an eminent publicist at Calvin Klein and an unofficial face of the brand on the New York circuit. And if Klein should not conceive of her dress, others wondered if it would be a rising star like John Galliano – a master of the coupon dresses and a creative director then in Dior. “For any reason, she chose Narciso”, the author of “CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion”, said Sunita Kumar Nair in a telephone interview. “I think that the fact that she has chosen an unknown friend, as opposed to Calvin Klein, is just her throughout: defend her friends and want them to enjoy her new spotlights.”
Rodriguez was recruited at the task of drinks in Odeon, a restaurant in the Tribeca district of New York. It took him three months to design three versions of the wedding dress, which Bessette-Kennedy chose. In an interview with the New York Times in 1996, Rodriguez described the final “sensual” dress – a direction he said that he and Bessette -Kennedy have been lined up from the start. The dress, which Rodriguez ended up making gifts, was worth around $ 40,000 at the time. “I made this wedding dress with so much love for the person I loved the most worldwide,” said the designer at PBS in 2020. “I never considered him a press event.”
The dress of discreet and timeless chronicle was fit for a small relaxed wedding. But its simplicity quickly sent reverberations to the wider bridal industry. “There was a massive boom in this kind of very elegant silhouette,” said Kumir. “Everyone was like” I want to look like him “. As much with meringues. »»
Shortly before, Janet Jackson had married his colleague singer James Debarge in a jacquard wedding dress with a skirt on several levels. Madonna’s first wedding dress in 1985 included several strata of tulle gathered, while in 1992, the former first lady Michelle Obama opted for a duchess satin dress on the dramatic floor and a dramatic neckline. But it was the Royal Union of Princess Diana and then Prince Charles in 1981 which became the criterion of the glamor of marriage. The Diana dress was defined by its many layers of opulence, swollen sleeves with a 25-foot long veil, which was ornate by hand with 10,000 micro-performances.
Even in the 90s, many always turned on Diana’s wedding for fashion inspiration – including Mariah Carey, whose satin vera Wang 1993 dress was modeled after the fundamental dress – but Bessette -Kennedy was not gone. “It is interesting to think of Princess Diana, who was the 20th century wedding dress,” Rachel Tashjian, fashion critic at Washington Post told CNN. “It was this woman who came out of this fairy tale horse and this carriage in a huge, richly embellished dress which was quite to engage in fantasy and fairy tales of royal life.” On the other hand, Bessette-Kennedy, whose marriage to JFK Jr. placed it firmly in the American political dynasty, made sure that his dress had “no embellishment, no flyers, nothing,” she said.
“She says in a way, rather than embodying a fantasy or fairy tale test”, I’m going to make a clean slate and I can’t wait for the future “”, added Tashjian. “It was the biggest indicator that Carolyn gave what was going to come for the world public as a new Ms. Kennedy,” said Nair. “Apparently, Princess Diana was very jealous of this marriage.”
Ironically, the Bessette-Kennedy trend reproduction dress has become the plan of the brides around the world. Today, simple ivory shift dresses remain a popular style and are sold everywhere from Victoria Beckham and Max Mara to the Reformation and Rixo.
Alexandra Macon, editor -in -chief of marriage at Vogue, said that she sees “very often” women refer to the Narciso Rodriguez dress. “When writing a wedding feature, it is not uncommon for a bride to tell me that she emulated the nuptial look of Carolyn,” wrote Macon in an email at CNN. Even Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, was beautiful in the dress. A few months before meeting Prince Harry in 2016 (and experienced the tumult of joining a pre-existing first-hand dynasty), Markle told the online female glamor magazine his “favorite celebrity wedding dress” was none other than Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.
“Carolyn was just made for absolute perfection,” said Nair. “This is why we are talking about it today, 25 years later.”
