For some, Valentine’s Day will come early this year with the airing of the first episode of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. The television show, based on the biography Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy by Elizabeth Beller, might be characterized as a kind of historical romance, tracing the tragic love story of America’s golden couple. In fashion, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, or CBK, has become a kind of patron saint of minimalism and an icon of a certain brand of ’90s style. She is the earth around which many moon-like brands continue to revolve.
Curious to see at what points the image we have of Bessette-Kennedy align with the woman herself, I reached out to Narciso Rodriguez, who worked with her at Calvin Klein, lived in her building, and famously designed her wedding dress—an immaculate white slip. While he had nothing to say about the show, which he hasn’t seen, the designer was open to speaking more generally about his friend and her influence.
Vogue: What do you make of fashion’s Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy obsession?
Narciso Rodriguez: I think it’s beautiful that Carolyn has become this…not just a fashion icon. I did a talk with Women’s Wear Daily where Alex Badilla said, “Every time I go to a designer preview, she’s on the mood board.” She is the mood board, and I think that’s really beautiful because it speaks to her style. I think her authenticity really comes across at a time where everything is fiction [like] everything you see on Instagram. I think that’s why she resonates so much, not just with the fashion crowd, but with young women and men who see something that’s so cool, that’s so original and not pandering.
How did you come to know each other?
I met Carolyn when we both started to work at Calvin Klein and we lived in the same apartment building. [When] I started to work at Calvin I was living uptown. I found an apartment and the realtor said, “You have to come now because it’s going to go in a minute.” And I ran down and it was in Carolyn’s building. I went back to work and I said, “I took this apartment, it’s in your building,” and we squealed. And then her apartment became her shoe closet and she lived out of my apartment. Those were really great memorable years.
Did Calvin Klein bring Carolyn in for her style? How did that work?
It was an amazing time at Calvin because it was a real rebirth for his company and him and the collection. He really listened and brought in people that he understood were different. I remember I’d be in meetings with him and I’d say, “Yeah, it’s a double-breasted jacket, but we’re going to make it cool.” And then he’d be like, “Yeah, make it cool. Make it cool….” There was this energy of design and style and Calvin really loved it and nurtured it. The energy was unbelievable, and it showed—it showed in the shows, it showed in the press, it showed in the clothes.
You were carving out something new in New York, right? How would you describe it—minimalism?
Minimalism can be a bit void of emotion and ideas for the sake of minimalism. And today it’s been really overplayed. I think what I tried to do with my work, what happened at Calvin in the ’90s, it was pure, but it had a soul and it was clean, but it had cool to it. It’s not just bare. I think Jil Sander was a great example of that because she created minimalism, but it had such impact; the design and the cut and the material and down to the button and the lining, everything was so thought out. And that’s what sets that kind of pure design apart from what we see today.
Did you put Carolyn in Yohji?
I didn’t put her in Yohji, Carolyn put herself in it. Carolyn had a great eye for what was right for her, and that could be a pair of John’s khakis and his T-shirt with a great belt and look amazing or Yohji or whatever she chose to wear. You recognize real style and who possesses it, and you recognize who works at it, and you recognize who has someone doing it for them. And she was unique—I mean, you can count the number of women on one hand that had that kind of style. It’s knowing what’s good, but also what’s good for you.
How did she get it right?
Again, I think she was always true to herself. I think she was always aware of where she was going, how she needed to present. It didn’t run her life. There wasn’t a team of people getting it together. It was complex, but for her, a bit effortless, very well thought out. It wasn’t all that she was. It was part of her, something she enjoyed and appreciated. She was as comfortable in a pair of khakis and a T-shirt, and I think that’s what made the Yohji gown and those things look right because she was self-possessed and had this incredible grace and humor and unbelievable beauty to go with it.
You designed Carolyn’s wedding dress and I’m sure you’ve talked about it a million times, but was it a collaborative effort?
I had given her a couple of ideas, she thought one was too architectural, she pulled the neckline down and a dress was born. For me, it was the love of my life marrying the love of her life, and so it was a very heartfelt, emotional time. I remember going to Odeon and having cosmos with her at the bar and her telling me that John had proposed and would I make her dress? It was such an exciting moment in all of our lives.
Sometimes when you design a collection or when an exhibition or show comes out that’s been in the works for many years, it somehow arrives at a moment that feels just like it was meant to, even if that wasn’t the intention. Carolyn resonates always, but how does she speak to the now?
We live in a world that isn’t real at the moment, whether it’s AI or television, nothing is what you’re really seeing. And I think that there’s a relief and a respite from all of it. When you read a good book that someone actually wrote, or you see someone like Carolyn, not trapped, completely real, completely authentic, it’s refreshing. It stands out even more today because it doesn’t exist today. We don’t get to see much of it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
