Critics worry Ryan Murphy’s new show fails to capture Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s style
A production by Ryan Murphy rarely arrives without controversy – and this time, the backlash implies a bag of erroneous birkin.
The Murphy production company unveiled this month the camera test photos and the video of the highly anticipated FX series “American Love Story” on the tragic romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.
The images of the show, which began to film in New York this month and which should be released in February, gave the public their first overview of how the actors Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Kelly represent the “IT” couple, who married in 1996 and died in a plane crash three years later.
Only a handful of costumes have been previewed in online teasers. But many people online seemed indignant by the representation, calling for style choices far from emblematic fashion for which Bessette-Kennedy, who was a former publicist who worked for Calvin Klein, was known.
“Pure fashion crime,” wrote a person on June 13 on Instagram. Another commented: “The style of 1995 with 2025 offers is crazy work. Back to the drawing board, please. “
The criticism focused on Pidgeon’s outfit in the photos. For some, the square brown coat, the cropped pants and the Birkin n ° 35 bag was a deviation from the creator bag n ° 40 in plush and wisited with Bessette-Kennedy and a minimalist style of high quality which made it one of the most notable fashion icons of the 1990s. Other photos and a test video show Pidgeon in a faux leather jacket, A noon silk skirt and a conversation.
“The details count here because it has used its image to control the story,” said Jack Sehnert, vice-president of the international design of Steve Madden and creator of an Instagram account dedicated to the style icon, @carolynbessette. “They could have rummaged ebay for a month or two to find references and originals to make leisure for Sarah.”
Others in the fashion world have also noticed. The cut called the wardrobe choice fast-fashion bucoffs of the high designer style associated with Bessette-Kennedy, and wondered why it seems that the Murphy team is not withdrawn directly from the fashion archives.
Diet Prada, an Instagram account with 3.4 million followers known for calling fashion brands, also published images. In the comments, the celebrity stylist Erica Cloud wrote: “All this is a no” and the editor-in-chief and stylist contributing to Vogue Gabriella Karefa-Johnson stressed that if the “silhouettes are alike. … Zara is very different from Calvin, Narciso, Jil. … send the help. “
Others have obsessed blond hair platinum from Pidgeon, which the colorist of Bessette-Kennedy told NBC News more like a “Halloween wig” than the Blonde “caramel” with neutral hairstyle of his former client.
“If they use this white wig, it is not me. It is not a replica of my work,” said Brad Johns, a famous colorist who took natural natural brown hair from Bessette-Kennedy in Blonde with a highlighting technique “of bending”. “If she saw this hair color on television, she swirled in paradise.”
A representative of Murphy and Fx did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The backlash has encouraged Murphy to clarify that the first looks were simply turned for lighting and color tests and do not represent the costumes finalized for one or the other character. In a recent interview with Variety, he said that camera test images were published early to pre -empt the paparazzi leaks and qualified the release of “error”.
“If I ever start something like that, I have to put a warning label at the top of the legend, explaining to people what is the process,” Murphy said.
He added that production is committed to nailing authenticity and has a dedicated “style advisory advice” of 10 people to help to reference and get the wardrobe of Bessette-Kennedy. The show also has articles from Bessette-Kennedy, including her emblematic Prada boots, and she produces a replica of her 1996 wedding dress. He also said that on test photos, Pidgeon wore a wig.
However, Murphy said he was surprised by negative comments.
“There were comments like:” I hate this coat, Carolyn would never have worn that “” he said. “It was just a coat that we launched for the color. People wrote: “How dare you use the Birkin n ° 35 bag?” She wore a 40! Yes, we have a 40, but we just launched a bag from another costume service because it was the sound scene on which we were. »»
The issues, however, remain high. Unlike other biopic subjects, Bessette-Kennedy has not written memory or frequently spoken to the media, and his public life has been meticulously organized as his clothes. His image lives almost exclusively through photos of Paparazzi – photos that have been dissected and cataloged for a generation of fashion aficionados.
“The real problem here is that it brought too few publicly outfits over a very small period in the spotlight,” said Sehnert in an e-mail, noting that her clothes have become her public identity because she did not speak to the media. “His image saw if in evidence that all the outfits that were not direct leisure should disappoint.”
Mythology around Bessette-Kennedy grew up after his death in 1999 in an airplane accident with JFK Jr. and his sister, the fashion student “IT” from fashion to American princess Diana. Today, social media accounts like Sehnert, which has nearly 64,000 subscribers, are dedicated to Bessette-Kennedy. In the era of “calm luxury”, its minimalist style and without label even has a great cultural weight.
“Carolyn, unlike his contemporary di lady, lives in our memory in a handful of classic outfits,” said Sehnert. “You can’t just exchange a camel coat with another here, because we only saw it in one.”
Sehnert said that due to the influence of Bessette-Kennedy’s fashion, he thinks he is “fantastic that all generation entirely new place his style on a pedestal” and talks about the initial photos of “the history of American love”.
“Unfortunately, the public and the press were not nice [Bessette-Kennedy] During her short life, so at least she continues to gain respect in death, “he said.” It’s fabulous to see the careful effort and conservation of her wardrobe inspire so much 26 years later. For better or for worse, its balance under a meticulous examination and choices of wardrobe are its inheritance. »»
In an Instagram story after the fixed images were revealed, the nephew of JFK Jr. Jack Schlossberg did not weigh on fashion choices and said that the Kennedy family was not consulted on the series.
“Lately, my news feed was filled with photos of my uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., a big man,” he said, according to Entertainment Weekly, who reported on the story Thursday before his disappearance of the Schlossberg flow. “For those who wonder if his family has been consulted or has something to do with the new show made about it, the answer is no, and there is really not much that we can do.”
But the initial disappointment of the “American Love Story” costumes has not yet dissuaded fans or even some of the greatest admirers in Bessette-Kennedy.
When asked if he was still planning to watch the show, Sehnert said: “Oh, let’s be real, absolutely!”
