‘The antithesis of what Gen Z grew up with’: Love Story inspires fervor for Carolyn Bessette’s style

Influencers are doing their best to recreate Bessette’s deeply individualized style, which ironically was a refusal to follow along with what was popular

W

hile US pop culture has a long-held fascination with the Kennedys, much of the recent fervor around FX’s newest hit show, Love Story, has been aimed at the style of Carolyn Bessette, who worked as a publicist at Calvin Klein before marrying into America’s most storied political family.

Open up TikTok and you’ll see influencers doing their best to recreate her looks and makeup routines. Brands are invoking Bessette to promote their products; hair care brand Schwarzkopf posted about a highlighting technique the brand called “foiled cashmere, inspired by Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy”.

And the fervor makes sense – Love Story, which chronicles the dramatic and ultimately tragic romance between John F Kennedy Jr. and Bessette, has become FX’s most-watched limited series ever on streaming, with more than 25m hours viewed across the first five episodes on Disney+ and Hulu, the network recently announced.