How the Costume Designer for FX's Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette Sourced Archival Looks for the Series
Our take
The meticulous recreation of the past for entertainment is a fascinating phenomenon, and the recent FX series *Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette* offers a compelling case study in how costume design can elevate a narrative beyond mere historical retelling. The series' costume designer, Johann Botha, details in a recent *Who What Wear* podcast interview the painstaking process of sourcing archival looks to accurately capture the era's understated elegance—a challenge amplified by the intensely scrutinized style of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. It’s a process that speaks to a broader cultural obsession with a particular moment in time, a yearning for a perceived simplicity and grace that feels increasingly distant in our current, hyper-saturated world. This isn't just about replicating clothing; it’s about evoking a mood, a feeling, and a specific cultural context, something that resonates deeply with our current aesthetic sensibilities. The demand for that aesthetic is evident in trends like the resurgence of aughts fashion The Aughts Effect Is Everywhere, demonstrating a cyclical return to styles that once defined a generation.
Botha’s story, and his eventual break into the industry through a chance encounter and a willingness to take on a challenging project, is a testament to the power of perseverance and the often-unpredictable nature of creative careers. The difficulty in sourcing authentic pieces from the 1990s, rather than relying on readily available vintage stores, highlights a critical shift in how period pieces are approached. It’s no longer enough to simply find "vintage" clothing; the aim is to find pieces that genuinely reflect the style and quality of the era, demanding a level of research and sourcing that was previously less common. The meticulous attention to detail – from the fabrics chosen to the precise silhouettes – underscores the importance of costume design as a storytelling tool. And it's a narrative that extends beyond the screen; the quiet elegance of the era is increasingly influencing contemporary fashion choices, with trends like minimalist nail art From Paris to Japan: These Will Be the Most In-Demand Nail Trends Across the Globe This Summer demonstrating a desire for understated sophistication. Even a seemingly small detail like a unique manicure Tate McRae Just Cosigned the Internet's Favorite Non-Basic Way to Wear a French Manicure can speak volumes about a character's style and personality.
The success of *Love Story* hinges, in part, on the ability of its costume design to transport viewers back to a specific time and place, and to convey the intangible qualities of the individuals at its center. It’s a reminder that costume design isn't merely about dressing actors; it’s about constructing a visual language that communicates character, narrative, and cultural context. The series’ popularity underscores a broader trend in entertainment – a desire for stories that are grounded in reality, even when dealing with extraordinary figures. This demand for authenticity extends to the visual presentation, requiring costume designers to become historians, researchers, and skilled artisans, all while maintaining a keen eye for aesthetics. The challenge lies in capturing the essence of a style without resorting to caricature or cliché, a delicate balance that Botha and his team seem to have achieved with remarkable success.
Looking ahead, we can expect to see even greater emphasis on authenticity and meticulous detail in period pieces. The rise of social media and the ease with which audiences can fact-check historical accuracy will only heighten the pressure on production teams to get the details right. This, in turn, will demand a new generation of costume designers who are not only skilled in their craft but also possess a deep understanding of history and culture. The question becomes: as our fascination with the past continues to grow, how will costume design evolve to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of audiences and the ever-expanding possibilities of visual storytelling?
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Rudy Mance, the Emmy-nominated costume designer for FX's Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, has always loved fashion.
After moving to New York City, Mance had a chance encounter that changed the trajectory of his career. "Through friends, I had met a stylist and fashion editor named Sarah Richardson," Mance said. "She lived in London and still does, but at the time, she was doing a lot of work in the States for I-D magazine." Through another friend, Mance eventually began working in film and television as a set costumer, dressing background actors. "I was a set costumer when I first got in, so that taught me filmmaking and what it was like to be on set and all of the hard, painstaking work that goes into it," Mance said.
For the latest episode of The Who What Wear Podcast, Mance tells Who What Wear cofounder Hillary Kerr how he made the leap from editorial styling to working on some of the biggest projects in Hollywood, how they sourced archival looks for FX's Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, and more.
To read excerpts from the conversation, scroll below.
Talk to me a little bit about how you got into fashion in general and costume design in particular.
I grew up in a very small town, rural Indiana. [I was] always very interested in fashion but didn't really know how to break in and had moved to New York. I didn't really have a plan, so I just started working and networking. I lived on the Lower East Side, which was a very hip, trendy party part of the city.
Through friends, I had met a stylist and fashion editor named Sarah Richardson. She lived in London and still does, but at the time, she was doing a lot of work in the States for I-D magazine. I began assisting her whenever she would come to the U.S. Through my work at I-D and her, I met Edward Enninful. I would assist Edward on occasion and Sarah and a handful of other Condé Nast stylists.
Fashion assistants never make a ton of money. Monday through Friday, I would work at the magazines. On Saturdays, I would work on a taco truck on Bedford Avenue, and then on Sundays, I would work at this place called Beacon's Closet. I met a woman there who was… I didn't know what she did, but I knew she did something costume related. Her name's Laura Downing. She's still a very, very dear friend. She was a wardrobe supervisor, so she hired me to do a film with her dressing the background.
I was a set costumer when I first got in, so that taught me filmmaking and what it was like to be on set and all of the hard, painstaking work that goes into it. Then I got hired as a costumer on a show called The Knick.
Love Story is obviously a Ryan Murphy project, but this is not your first time working with him. You have worked with him on a number of projects: Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, American Horror Story, and Monster, to name a few. Even though these are very different projects, that relationship must be such an interesting one because it has evolved over time, and you start to get in each other's heads.
I came to work with Ryan Murphy through Lou Eyrich, who is Ryan's costume designer on many of his shows, and they've been working together, I think, for 25 years or so. Lou now oversees, as a producer, all of his shows in terms of the costumes, so I work very, very closely with Lou.
I want to talk a little bit about when you craft a costume for a character that's based on a real person, especially people like John F. Kennedy Jr. and like Carolyn Bessette. The world has an idea of what that legacy looks like, but your responsibility is also to the new viewer. How do you balance all of those things?
I always try to approach every single thing from a point of reality in terms of costume design, even though it has to look intriguing and aspirational and all of these things because it is for TV. No matter who the character is, whether it's pretty or ugly, it should always feel real. Even though they are costumes, they should feel like clothes, and nothing should ever be too, too precious. Kind of like the two of them, nothing should ever be trying too hard. It really just comes down to style, and thank god Paul [Anthony Kelly] and Sarah [Pidgeon] [are] both very stylish in their own right, and they could pull off almost anything.
Talk to me about sourcing.
Incredible, incredible team of assistants and shoppers. Yes, 1stDibs. Yes, Etsy. Yes, eBay. We had a team of shoppers here in L.A. that would pull from the rental houses and from the various vintage shops here. We went everywhere in New York. Vintage shops. We even would, if we really were struggling, go to Philadelphia. Then a lot of pieces came from abroad. We had a Prada purse from Ukraine.
Japanese eBay, at one point, because we were struggling. In terms of archives, yes, as much as we could. Sunita Kumar Nair was incredible and introduced us to Yohji Yamamoto. I don't know if we wound up using anything from Yohji's archives, and same with Prada. … Yohji Yamamoto and Prada, I think they had both just opened their flagships in New York in 1995, so they weren't fully set up with archives. So that Yohji suit with the ruffle, the tan and black, they didn't even have it in their archives.
Then we wound up having to make it. In terms of Calvin [Klein], I think we have the most vintage Calvin archive of all time now. It was really important for me to use as much vintage as we could throughout the series.
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This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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