Why We’re Still Obsessed With Jackie Kennedy’s Style
Some films are tailor-made for sartorial inventiveness. And with others, you color within the lines, which is arguably harder. That’s the case with Jackie, which examines the days following the 1963 assassination of John. F. Kennedy, and shows how his widow — played by Oscar nominee Natalie Portman — created the legacy of Camelot.
Costume designer Madeline Fontaine is also nominated for her work on the film. Given that Kennedy’s signature looks have withstood the test of time and then some, Fontaine had to work within the constraints of history. That being said, she remembers the instant she realized that Portman was, in fact, transformed into Kennedy — despite having very little in common physically with the former first lady.
“The first day she came on the set, with the pink suit. It was the first time the crew saw her in that costume. It was the first day of shooting,” says Fontaine. “When she appeared on the set in the pink set, it definitely worked.”
And had it not? “It would have been horrible, for sure,” says Fontaine.
The Kennedy style legacy — the boxy suits, the A-line dresses, the pillbox hats — has been dominating the news of late, thanks to the comparisons between Melania Trump’s Ralph Lauren inauguration ensemble and a similar outfit worn by Kennedy. Fontaine is having none of it.
“Wow, wow, it’s difficult to answer. I have no respect for these people. Elegance is not to be bought. Wow. It’s very delicate. What can I say?” she muses.
She’d much rather focus on her impressive collection of period pieces, all created from scratch. She made five of the iconic pink suits Kennedy wore for the fateful drive through Dallas; Chanel donated the buttons. For the White House tour, two versions of the frock had to be made: red for the color scenes, and pink, which translated better for the black-and-white ones. Fontaine also crafted the black outfit Portman wore for the funeral scenes.
One of her favorite looks is the green gown Portman wore to a concert. “That was a bit more freeing for me,” says Fontaine. “I worked very closely with the people of the workshop. It’s one of the rarest colors she wore. We decided to make it as pure as the lines Oleg Cassini used to draw for her. The fabric is perfect. We made the color. We made it as pure as possible.”
Overall, there was zero room for error, given that Kennedy remains one of the most photographed and idolized women in history. How many of us, after all, had her picture on our dorm room walls? “We had to make things exact. We had to stick to what [the style] was and adapt it to Natalie’s proportions,” says Fontaine. “Natalie is very thin. She’s much smaller, much thinner [than Kennedy]. She doesn’t have the same structure at all. She’s much different, but the idea was to believe in it.”
And the public still does. Kennedy remains an enduring fashion icon.
“It’s always in fashion — the dresses, the shoes. It’s elegant and feminine. This never died,” says Fontaine. “The fashion changed. We still have this feminine silhouette. It comes back. Now the public people, and women in general, want to be dressed like her.”
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