From the first episode, I was immediately hooked by the new show “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette,” from producer Ryan Murphy. The show is a limited series that dramatizes the intense whirlwind romance between John F. Kennedy Jr., son of former United States President John F. Kennedy, and the fashion publicist Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, which ultimately ended in tragedy when both Kennedy and Bessette died in a plane crash piloted by Kennedy.
While you should check out the show on Hulu, what I am interested in is the revival of Bessette’s style on social media after the release of the show. Bessette was known for her chic 90’s minimalist style, which was captured in paparazzi photos. Her style consisted of a neutral palette, often wearing colors like black, brown and white with classic tailored denim. Her look was chic workwear meets casual. Bessette also loved a luxurious coat paired with her outfits consisting of classic pieces, while strolling the streets of New York City. As a publicist for Calvin Klein, Bessette was often seen wearing the Calvin Klein Collection on the street, with other known brands such as Levi’s and Prada. Bessette regularly wore accessories such as bags and sunglasses with her iconic looks. She carried a simple, classic big bag, such as the Hermès Birkin bag for everyday use and the L.L. Bean Boat and Tote for beach outings. She regularly sported her classic round sunglasses from Selima Optique.
Bessette was also known for her iconic, highlighted honey-blonde hair. Bessette often wore a tortoiseshell headband from New York City apothecary, C.O. Bigelow. The show had some difficulty recreating Bessette’s iconic locks of hair, with the first look promotional images. Luckily, the hair and makeup team for the show was able to perfect both the hair and fashion of Bessette for actress Sarah Pidgeon in time for the series release.
With the release of the show, social media users have taken to posting videos sharing their favorite looks from Bessette and their outfits inspired by Bessette’s iconic style. While most of my social media feed has been all about Bessette’s fashion, this style inspiration is limited not just to Bessette, with men finding inspiration from JFK Jr.’s mixing of elevated classics with street-style elements.
While I am all for people experimenting with and discovering their style, the resurgence of Bessette’s iconic style asks bigger questions. What made Bessette’s style so unique and iconic was that it was personal and crafted to her, with tailored, high-quality luxury pieces. Most people recreate the looks on social media using fast-fashion pieces, which is the antithesis of Bessette’s style. Her style emphasized quality, versatile pieces that could be styled and worn multiple times. With fast-fashion retailers, the pieces produced are of poor quality, often produced with unethical labor. These poorly-made pieces often end up in the landfill after a new fashion trend inevitably hits the social media scene. As Bessette’s style was all about elevated minimalistic pieces, it raises the question: with the social media resurgence of her iconic style, is this just another TikTok fashion micro trend?
There has been a pattern in the cycle of trends reappearing in the world of social media, and it goes like this: a style or fashion trend, either new or recycled from the past, makes a return to widespread attraction on social media, but with every trend comes immediate trend death. With each new trend, it is up to the consumers to decide whether it is sustainable long-term in the world of fashion or if it is simply a microtrend that will soon be discarded when the next style icon comes along.
Bessette’s style is an interesting case due to the simplicity and timelessness of the pieces. Are these staple pieces that consumers will collect and wear sustainably, or will they simply discard them once the trend is deemed over? I personally love Bessette’s minimalist and chic style, so I hope to see this trend break the cycle of the microtrend and cement itself as a staple in the world of fashion.