Ryan Murphy’s limited series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette isn’t just a dramatization of a high-profile romance; it’s also a glimpse into the world of 1990s fashion and the power brokers who shaped it. The latest episode highlights a pivotal moment in the career of both Kate Moss and Bessette herself, revealing how the future First Daughter-in-law championed the then-relatively unknown model at Calvin Klein.
The series depicts Bessette, portrayed by Sarah Pidgeon, selecting Moss’s headshot from a stack of submissions, recognizing a unique quality that others hadn’t yet fully grasped. While the show takes some creative license – suggesting a more direct “discovery” of Moss than actually occurred – it accurately reflects Bessette’s influence within the Calvin Klein organization. According to reporting from Town & Country, Bessette, alongside art director Fabian Baron, actively advocated for Moss’s inclusion in a controversial 1992 underwear campaign featuring Mark Wahlberg (then known as Marky Mark).
At the time, Calvin Klein was reportedly facing financial difficulties. The gamble on Moss, a young woman who didn’t fit the conventional mold of the era’s supermodels, proved to be a stroke of genius. The campaign, and subsequent fragrance ads like the “Obsession” campaign featured in the series, revitalized the brand and helped secure its future. The success wasn’t just about aesthetics; it was about tapping into a burgeoning cultural shift.
The “Obsession” campaign, specifically, is presented in the series as being born from a real-life connection between Moss and photographer Mario Sorrenti. Calvin Klein himself recounted the story to Interview magazine, explaining that Moss introduced him to Sorrenti, and the photographer’s portfolio immediately resonated with the campaign’s desired mood. “And I look at the pictures, and it just says to me Obsession—he was obsessed with her,” Klein said. This personal connection, and the raw emotion it conveyed, became central to the campaign’s impact.
The series touches upon the cultural impact of the Moss/Sorrenti imagery, hinting at the rise of “heroin chic” – a controversial aesthetic that defined much of the 1990s fashion landscape. The topless photograph of Moss, stolen from a telephone booth in the show’s opening scene, is a direct reference to the “Obsession” campaign and the intense scrutiny it generated. The scene underscores the provocative nature of the advertising and the public’s fascination with Moss’s image.
Beyond Moss’s casting, the series also highlights Bessette’s broader role within Calvin Klein. She wasn’t simply a publicist; she was a trusted advisor to the brand’s celebrity clientele, including Annette Bening, Diane Sawyer, and Blaire Trump. A 1996 New York Times article, as reported by E! Online, detailed how Bessette would guide these clients through the collection, offering styling advice and ultimately driving significant sales. Paul Wilmott, then Calvin Klein’s VP of public relations, described her as having “sold millions of dollars of clothes over a period of time.”
This portrayal of Bessette as a style influencer feels particularly relevant today, as her minimalist aesthetic continues to inspire contemporary fashion trends like “quiet luxury” and the “clean girl” aesthetic. As Sunita Kumar Nair, author of the coffee table book CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, A Life in Fashion, told Coveteur, there’s a “mystery about Carolyn which is really important; she was very private.” This air of mystery, combined with her impeccable taste, has cemented her status as a lasting style icon.
The series, while fictionalizing certain aspects of the story, effectively illustrates how Bessette’s keen eye and understanding of cultural currents helped shape not only the Calvin Klein brand but also the broader fashion landscape of the 1990s. It’s a reminder that behind the glamorous facade of celebrity and high fashion, there were individuals like Bessette who possessed a genuine creative vision and the ability to recognize – and champion – emerging talent. The success of the Moss campaign wasn’t just a win for Calvin Klein; it was a testament to Bessette’s influence and her ability to spot what was cool before anyone else.
The show’s depiction of this period also offers a window into the anxieties surrounding fame and the relentless pursuit of privacy that Bessette experienced, particularly after her marriage to John F. Kennedy Jr. As noted by Coveteur, Bessette used fashion as a means of control in the face of constant paparazzi attention, a dynamic that adds another layer of complexity to her story.
