by When you think of Jackie Kennedy, two images probably come to mind. One is the demure First Lady of the early 1960s, with a closet full of chic Chanel-style suits and pillbox hats. The other may be the same woman in her “Jackie O” era, with oversized sunglasses, casual New York street style, and loose party dresses.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ extraordinary life is reflected in her clothes. There was always a “Jackie” thread running through every one of her style choices – from her choices as a budding socialite on the East Coast, through her time as the wife of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, to her later years as the wife of shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis and then as a book editor and political activist. However, the style icon still wrote some very distinct fashion chapters.
And if one piece of clothing epitomizes her rise from former First Lady to shining international star, it’s the Valentino Couture wedding dress she wore to her wedding to Onassis in October 1968. For the ceremony, which took place on the Greek island of Skorpios, Jackie ordered a knee-length dress that couldn’t have been more different from the gorgeous gown she wore to her first wedding to JFK in 1953.
“Jackie’s [second] “The wedding dress was groundbreaking at the time,” confirms Marissa Speer, US sales manager for luxury handbags and fashion at Bonhams auction house, where the dress will be auctioned for the first time in an online auction from September 16 to 26.
“As a socialite with a distinctive style, she chose something unexpected for her wedding – a short dress. The wedding dress really underlines that she was not only embracing ’60s fashion and the feminine movement of the time, but also makes it clear that she was entering a new era, making her own choices and showing her independence through her style,” Speer continues.
Jackie’s decision to ask Valentino to design her dress, which is sold by a couple who worked on Onassis’s yacht Christina, is also telling. As First Lady, she was under pressure to wear American designers. She often got around this pressure by having her personal couturier, Oleg Cassini, make Parisian-quality pieces for her on American soil, or by buying from boutiques like Chez Ninon on Park Avenue in New York, which had a license to reproduce European designs in American workshops.
Life as the wife of one of the richest men in the world did not require such diplomatic skills, so she was able to turn to Valentino, one of the most sought-after designers of his time.
“In the 1960s, Valentino was the designer of choice, he was in high demand and had a large following in Italy and the Mediterranean,” explains Speer. “He was the first designer to design a themed collection with his all-white ‘Sfilata Bianca’ collection, which made him very popular with brides of the time. At the time, Valentino was the 21st century equivalent of having a wedding dress designed by McQueen or Westwood.”
And although the dress appears remarkably casual, Speer explains that the workmanship was as meticulous as one would expect from Valentino. “From an archivist and collector’s perspective, the dress ticks all the boxes of a ’60s Valentino piece. It was made from exquisite materials like silk crepe with intricate lace details that Valentino was known for,” she says.
“The cut, particularly the bishop sleeves, are incredibly flattering and the condition is second to none. With many garments from the ’60s you see threads and fabrics wear out, but the wedding dress is in exceptional condition, with not a single tear or scuff. Valentino’s use of high-quality fabrics and craftsmanship stand the test of time.”
Looking at images of Jackie from this period, the dress definitely represents a bookmark between the Kennedy years (or “Queen of Camelot”) as Bonhams describes it, and the Jackie O chapter; a moment of fashion liberation between her prim, safe First Lady wardrobe and the relaxed lightheartedness of a woman who could spend her time holidaying on Greek yachts and socialising in New York.
The dress is also a testament to her impeccable personal style, a trait she passed on to her son, John F. Kennedy Jr. The Bonhams auction also includes three outfits (two Calvin Klein suits and a Giorgio Armani coat) worn by JFK Jr. in the early 1990s, when he was considered one of the world’s most eligible and eligible bachelors. They are being sold by his close friend Sasha Chermayeff, who also auctioned a Yohji Yamamoto dress that belonged to his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, earlier this year.
JFK Jr. “had a natural talent and understanding of how to style clothes effortlessly and coolly – quite a feat considering that much of his wardrobe consisted of suits,” notes Speer. “One of the lots is a tailored Calvin Klein suit from the ’90s. If you look at menswear of that era, it’s always very voluminous and loose, so the fact that JFK Jr. owned such a tailored piece back then was groundbreaking. It’s so modern and could have come off a recent Tom Ford runway.”
Not only do the suits represent what Jackie taught her son about dressing well, but the Calvin Klein designs are also a nod to the meeting between John and his wife, who worked as a PR consultant and VIP coordinator at the label when he visited the studio, making the couple and their relationship inextricably linked to the sleek, minimalist look of the era.
Whether it’s Jackie’s polished glamour or the cool elegance of JFK Jr. and CBK, the appeal of the Kennedy style remains undiminished to this day (all three died in the 1990s – Jackie of cancer in 1994 and John and Carolyn in a plane crash in 1999).
“With the trend of ‘quiet luxury’, the demand for timeless elegance is back, and this way of dressing up is the way the Kennedys dressed,” reflects Speer. “They opted for classic designs with tailored silhouettes, made from beautiful fabrics, rather than trendy or fast-fashion pieces. Many of their outfits are timeless – in photos you can’t tell what era they are from, apart from the world around them.”
Bonhams Classic Luxury: Style Icons online sale runs from 16 to 26 September at Bonhams.com
