How Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's wedding dress upended bridal fashion

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy married John F. Kennedy Jr. in a secret 1996 ceremony on Georgia’s Cumberland Island and chose a surprisingly restrained look. She passed on a custom Calvin Klein gown and wore a $40,000 Narciso Rodriguez bias-cut slip dress, with silk tulle opera gloves and a simple veil pinned to a slightly mussed bun.

Jewelry was minimal: only her sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring, modeled on a piece owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Bessette and Rodriguez had worked together at Calvin Klein, and Rodriguez was then at Cerruti Arte; Klein itself never produced bridalwear.

Opting for a relatively unknown designer underlined her knack for spotting talent and following her instincts. The dress’s silk crepe fabric, slight cowl neck and curve-hugging bias cut depended on precise technique and high-quality material to create its effortless effect.

United States, Cumberland Island, Georgia

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