Among the front row guests at the Loewe show in Paris was actress Sarah Pidgeon, who portrays Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in “Love Story,” the series that has reignited the global obsession with the ‘90s power couple she formed with John F. Kennedy Jr.
Expect to see minimalist style all over the runways next season. Pidgeon, attending her first Paris show after hitting up Prada in Milan, is still measuring the impact of the series, which has racked up more than 25 million hours of viewing for its first five episodes, making it FX’s most-watched limited series ever on Hulu and Disney+.
“I mean, I think it all goes back to Carolyn. I feel very grateful that I was able to not only wear these fantastic clothes, but really embody the woman that she was,” she said. “I’m really excited that people are more familiar with Carolyn, if they weren’t already, and she’s an incredible woman that I feel very lucky to have been so close to for these past couple of months.”
Sarah Pidgeon and Giselle
Aitor Rosas Sune/WWD
In a sign of CBK fever, one of her Prada coats sold at auction this week for $192,000, more than six times its high estimate. Pidgeon had access to several vintage items identical to the ones worn by the former Calvin Klein publicist, who died in 1999.
“I’m not sure anything was necessarily authenticated that she herself wore, but they were same jackets from the same collection, a lot of Pradas and Yohjis that were from collectors. Whether or not they were her actual pieces, I’m not sure – but wonderful clothing,” she said.
Pidgeon has been working with stylist Emma Jade Morrison for her “Love Story” press tour, but admitted her personal style is still a work-in-progress.
“It changes all the time,” she said, pointing to her brown leather bomber jacket and feathery skived leather jeans. “There are elements of Carolyn in this, but yeah, I think I’m still finding it.”
Sandra Bernhard and Hari Nef
Aitor Rosas Sune/WWD
While the fall collection presented by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez included plenty of “Marty Supreme” orange, Sandra Bernard, who plays Marty’s neighbor Judy in the Oscar-nominated film, had ditched the press tour’s signature color for a pale yellow coat in the same fuzzy material as Pidgeon’s pants.
“I always love orange, and actually, one of the alternatives to this coat was an orange coat, but this was so unique, we went with this one,” she said of picking the look. “Apparently it’s leather, and it’s some sort of a strange tool that helps shred it. I mean, you know the fashion people: they invent things,” she deadpanned.
Bernhard is set to join season four of another hit TV show, “The White Lotus,” which will be set in France.
“I’m old friends with [series creator] Mike White, and I’ve been urging him to write something for me for a long time, so we were in touch and he finally came through,” she said. “When they finally announced it, and it was all done and dusted, of course I’m thrilled.”
As is to be expected, she was mum on details of her character – even down to her clothes. “It’s all under wraps. I like things to get revealed,” she said. “Also, then you have something to look forward to. If everybody knows what the process is, then the outcome is not particularly rewarding.”
Schuyler Fisk and Sissy Spacek
Aitor Rosas Sune/WWD
Other celebrities at the show included Aubrey Plaza, who starred on the second season of the hit show, as well as newly minted Loewe ambassador Julia Garner, rapper Lil Yachty, Hari Nef, Lucas Hedges, K-pop star Giselle and Sissy Spacek, who was attending Paris Fashion Week for the very first time.
“If I look like a deer caught in the headlights, that’s why,” she quipped. “I’ve been asked many times, but I was raising my children. But my daughter Schuyler grew up and said, ‘Mom, you have to do this. It’ll be fun.’”
The “Badlands” star, whose default red carpet look is a black Armani suit, is working with the Loewe designers on an outfit for the Academy Awards. Her husband, production designer Jack Fisk, is nominated for his work on “Marty Supreme.”
“I want to have shoes on that are comfortable, and I want to have clothes on that are comfortable so I can have fun,” she said.
