We ‘ve seen her on hundreds of fashion pages, analyzed her looks one by one, and even gone so far as to auction off some of her original garments, alongside those lent to the series for the filming of A Love Story. In parallel with this collective passion for clothing, there has been a broader aesthetic revival of the Bessette figure: the return of long, seductive hair, hair accessories such as headbands, which according to Style Analitics have seen a 45 percent increase in Google searches in recent weeks, and even gestures once considered transgressive, such as the cigarette, which seem to be becoming part of the aesthetic imagination again thanks to the actress figure.
It has been three weeks since the last episode of the series, and while this craze for the Bessettes’ style was central during the airing, one question remains open today: is this renewed passion for Carolyn Bessette’s style likely to last? The trend can be read from multiple perspectives, as indeed we have already analyzed on several occasions. First and foremost, the appeal of a more discreet and therefore more accessible femininity emerges, especially for those who do not like excess or do not recognize themselves in overly bold silhouettes and garish colors. In parallel, this return to sobriety also marks a rediscovery of “less is more” elegance, an echo of so-called quiet luxury, which has been widely discussed in recent years. Essential garments, but made with great care; clean lines, impeccable cuts that enhance a long-limbed physique, and neutral palettes that enhance simplicity as a form of refinement. It is a return to the essence, after seasons dominated by complex and sometimes contrived stylistic excesses, as we delved into with fashion critic Philippe Pourhashemi, who highlighted precisely this sociocultural need to recover a more essential aesthetic, even tracing it back to the imagery of the 1990s. In this sense, Calvin Klein was one of its greatest interpreters, as the series itself clearly demonstrates.
The question, however, remains: how long can this renewed interest last? Unfortunately, the answer is partly already written. Somewhat etymologically, as trends are contingent on a short, intense moment, so called for this reason, that like any quickly exploded passion, it runs the risk of being a blaze destined to be extinguished as quickly as it was ignited. And this is not because it does not intercept the spirit of the times, on the contrary, because it reflects a real and deep need for a return to the essentials, both in social values and fundamental rights, and in the way of dressing and conceiving fashion, which is often sacrificed in the name of increasingly accelerated luxury and consumption, forgetting that at the base should remain the quality of the product. The problem is that this need, in my opinion, in order to turn into lasting change, should be accompanied by a structural transformation that supports and enhances it. Without this, it becomes an ephemeral superficial move: an aesthetic movement without solid roots, ready to dissolve before the allure of the next excess.
Therefore, although the great interest in Bessette’s style is not only understandable but perfectly consistent with our times, its real durability will depend on the ability of the fashion system-and cultural system more generally-to translate this inclination into concrete evolution. Otherwise, even her reinterpretations will risk being reduced to faded copies of the original, and the interest will dissipate, destined, alas, to remain only a short chapter in a history of continuous aesthetic oscillations.
[đź“· Getty Images]
