"An American Love Story": how the Kennedy TV series brought 90's minimalism back into fashion

In February 2026, the series "American Love Story" was released, dedicated to the relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. The project has become a real streaming hit. However, the audience was affected not only by the love story itself, but also by the aesthetics of the series: the minimalist images of the heroine, the atmosphere of New York in the 1990s, and the style that is now called "quiet luxury." About the phenomenon of the return of minimalism and why Carolyn Bessette became the main fashion icon again after a quarter of a century — in the material of Izvestia.

The story of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette

In 1992, John F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the 35th President of the United States, whom the press called "America's most eligible bachelor," came to the Calvin Klein boutique in New York. His meeting with the saleswoman Carolyn Besset changed their lives. She was an ordinary girl from the suburbs and did not strive for fame, for a long time she did not take courtship seriously. After the death of John's mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and the final breakup with actress Daryl Hannah, he began caring for Carolyn with renewed vigor. In 1995, Kennedy proposed on a fishing boat in Martha's Vineyard. She took three weeks to think, realizing that marrying Kennedy would change her life forever.

The wedding took place on September 21, 1996. It was one of the most heavily guarded events of the decade: with only 32 guests, an ancient church without electricity on remote Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia. There were no paparazzi at the ceremony. One picture of Carolyn in a simple silk white dress made by the then little—known designer Narciso Rodriguez went to all the world's publications two days later. Their marriage lasted three years.

On July 16, 1999, Kennedy, flying a light-engine airplane, was on his way with his wife and her sister Lauren to a relative's wedding. In conditions of fog and darkness, he lost control of the aircraft, it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was 33 years old. In three years of marriage, she never gave a single interview, although the paparazzi followed her everywhere.

Who was Carolyn Bessette and why is her style considered iconic

Carolyn Bessette is called the main icon of minimalism of the 1990s and the epitome of the aesthetics of "quiet luxury." Her style was formed while working at Calvin Klein, where she worked her way up from sales assistant to director of public relations. She preferred black, white, beige and navy blue, avoided prints and logos, wore Calvin Klein, Yohji Yamamoto, Prada, Helmut Lang, but never used clothes as a tool to demonstrate status.

Her main fashion gesture is the ability to mix the expensive with the simple: a Hermès Birkin bag with Levi's jeans and a Gap T—shirt. The silk slip wedding dress by Narciso Rodriguez became a manifesto against Princess Diana—style finery and is still considered one of the most influential wedding looks in history.

"Carolyn understood the power that clothes can have in a woman's daily life. That's why her style remains relevant to women all over the world," says fashion historian Lucy Bishop in an article for The Guardian newspaper.

Minimalism is back: how the world reacts to the trend

After the release of the series, interest in Carolyn Bessette's style experienced explosive growth. On the TikTok social network, the number of search queries related to it has increased by more than 9,000%. According to Google Trends, searches for "Calvin Klein 90s" in the United States increased by 850% in the week after the premiere, and The RealReal platform recorded a 139% increase in interest in vintage Calvin Klein in the first 12 days.

Girls all over the world massively reproduce Carolyn's images: straight jeans, black turtlenecks, laconic coats, silk slip dresses. Accessories attracted special attention — tortoiseshell plastic headbands from the New York pharmacy C.O. Bigelow and Selima Optique narrow glasses. The pharmacy reported a 500% increase in sales from 2023. The Prada coat worn by Carolyn sold at auction for $192 thousand. Brands have picked up on the trend: Schwarzkopf introduced the "foiled cashmere" dyeing technique, inspired by her style, and slip dresses appeared in the collections of Gucci and Alaia.

As the series' consultant Sunita Kumar Nair notes, Carolyn Bessette's minimalism resonates with the younger generation precisely because she has become the complete opposite of everything that Generation Z. grew up with. In an era when influencers lay out their every move, the figure of Carolyn, who has not given a single interview in three years of marriage to America's most famous man, seems almost impossible.

"The quieter a person is, the more interesting or mysterious they are," Nair added.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.