Reliving the 90s Thanks to Love Story

The series has increased interest in the real life couple

There's a lot of discussion about Love Story, the dramatised series on FX on the romance and then tragic end of John F Kennedy Jr and his wife Carolyn Bessette.

It has drawn a lot of criticism from the Kennedy family, in particular Jack Schlossberg, who said the family was not consulted, while Daryl Hannah, who was John F Kennedy's on-and-off girlfriend before Bessette, claimed the show was not even remotely close to her real life or relationship with him.

Kelly and Pidgeon star as Kennedy and Bessette

Nevertheless for Millennials and Gen Z, the story of Kennedy and Bessette's relationship is new to them, and along with it a fascination for the 1990s, from the fashion to the music, New York at the time, and celebrity culture.

For those of us who watched the couple from afar and then mourned their deaths in a plane crash on July 16, 1999, it's a weird feeling dredging up the ill-fated event, as well as the intense scrutiny of their relationship, and paparazzi constantly following them everywhere, that has echoes of Princess Diana.

On social media, influencers point out how Bessette had a small but classic wardrobe of designer clothes that she wore repeatedly, mostly black, but the key word was "effortless". As someone who worked for Calvin Klein, she herself emulated the style of minimalism, monotone colours and understated coolness.

The couple was highly scrutinised in the 1990s

And yes, John F Kennedy Jr really was that good looking at the time! He seemed to roll with the reality that photographers were going to stalk him everywhere and seemed good natured about it for the most part; however, it was something Bessette had to get used to very quickly.

Now with Love Story, there are a lot of comparisons between reality and the fictional couple played by Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Anthony Kelly. Apparently in the beginning there was a lot of uproar of the clothes Pidgeon wore in the test shots because they did not look like items Bessette, or CBK would wear.

So there was more effort put into finding the same clothes or something close enough, and the sartorial fans approved. 

And then tangentially there has been interest in Calvin Klein, his then wife Kelly Klein, how all the staff looked like models and the office had to look perfect everyday.

There is criticism of fact and fiction in the show

I also remember Kennedy launching George magazine and wow it was a blast of fresh air. Having Cindy Crawford dressed as George Washington on the cover, Kennedy made politics cool and more importantly accessible to young people.

It was hilarious seeing him make a cameo on Murphy Brown, my favourite show at the time. He sits at her secretary's desk and she's shocked to see him. He gives her a gift, but it turns out to be a mock-up of Murphy on the cover of George magazine. She is not amused.

Kennedy and Bessette were America's royal couple, and Love Story has rekindled interest in the 1990s. Thanks for the memories, but maybe it's a love story we shouldn't have brought up decades later.