How Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy still shapes fashion today: John F. Kennedy Jr’s late wife CBK inspired Ralph Lauren and Carolina Herrera, and her legacy is still felt at Tory Burch and Jil Sander today
- JFK Jr and his wife died in a plane crash in 1999 – a quarter-century later her influence is still felt at Tory Burch, Khaite, Carolina Herrera and even Ralph Lauren, as documented in Sunita Kumar Nair’s new book
- Bessette-Kennedy’s go-to looks include a monochrome Yohji Yamamoto outfit recently emulated by Meghan Markle, beige midi-skirts and boots, her iconic red Prada coat and a Narciso Rodriguez silk slip
For someone seen in only a handful of published images and with scarcely any clips of her speaking, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy remains one of fashion’s ultimate muses.
Her style – characterful and elevated minimalism that was both cerebral and approachable – didn’t just capture the aesthetic of the 90s, but carried a timelessness that many have tried to emulate since.
To this day, Bessette-Kennedy – who died in a plane crash almost 25 years ago alongside her husband John F. Kennedy Jr – remains a source of inspiration designers; from Wes Gordon at Carolina Herrera, to Gabriela Hearst and even Ralph Lauren, who was said to ask his creatives to think of her as their muse.
You can still see her influence in brands such as Tory Burch, Khaite and Jil Sander. Sporty & Rich’s most recent advertising campaign is inspired by Carolyn and John’s paparazzi pics from the 90s. Countless articles are still published about her style. Instagram accounts abound, such as @carolynbessette – which has 54,000 followers – created by Jack Sehnert when he was an accessories designer at Steve Madden, exhaustively document her style, which has been described as everything from “effortful effortless” to “throwaway chic”.
As Sehnert once told trade publication WWD, “I started this account … as a place to create a modern homage to all that her name instantly conjures. In the years since her death, her name has almost become an adjective to describe an entire way of dressing, be it bridal or off-duty casual.”
The thing about Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy is you’d still wear most of her outfits today. This is as true for the Yohji Yamamoto white shirt and black skirt she wore to a gala (and recently emulated by Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex) as it is for the beige midi-skirts and boots, the red Prada coat, the Narciso Rodriguez silk slip she wore for her 1996 wedding that changed the bridal industry forever.
She had that impossible to define “It” factor in spades. Partly because she remains mostly an enigma – dying aged 33 has left her a mystery in the era of oversharing.