\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tHenderson with Melanie Landestoy in But Gordon, 1990 and Veronica Webb in But Gordon, 1989.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFairchild Archive<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tIn the series, you are shown in the studio\/design offices with Narciso Rodriguez, whose iconic wedding dress for Carolyn also put him in the spotlight. Was that factual?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNo. Narciso and I were not in the studio together. Many people weren\u2019t in the studio, because Calvin was very protective of that space so, that part of the story is a bit over exaggerated.<\/p>\n \n\tHow and when did you meet Carolyn?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tI met her around 1988 on Broadway at a bookstore with another friend, Will Regan, who owned \u201cRex Bar\u201d with David Rabin. It was a famous New York hotspot where the fashion crowd hung out. Will assumed I knew Carolyn, who was accompanying us on a trip to the horse stables in the Catskills. That\u2019s where I first met her. Our friendship really started when we crossed paths again on 39th Street in the fashion industry near Calvin Klein\u2019s offices. She was admiring my signature denim shirt, jeans and Frye boots, that\u2019s when our friendship started and flourished. By the end of the decade I had established my own label. Carolyn, was [he chuckles] a wild lady, fun and spirited.<\/p>\n \n\tSince the film Carolyn\u2019s style is getting renewed attention. How would you define her style? <\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tAt first, she wasn\u2019t \u201cthat\u201d girl. She was more brunette than platinum blond when we first started hanging out. Working at Calvin \u2014 at the store, is when her style began to turn around. And just a note, she didn\u2019t like leather and never wore much makeup. He [Calvin], began to notice and that\u2019s what he wanted his woman to look like \u2014 even Kelly began to copy it \u2014 because Calvin admired it.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tCarolyn Bessette Kennedy and Calvin Klein at the City of Hope fundraiser in New York, 1992.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPenske Media via Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tHow did Carolyn meet John?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tWell, Carolyn spent much of her time when she was at Calvin Klein at the 654 Madison Avenue store. That store had a separate entry to the men\u2019s floor with wardrobe consultants and personal shoppers. John often came in to buy suits and had them done in his size. That\u2019s where I recall she met John. Then Calvin moved the wardrobe consultants back to his main offices and that\u2019s where Carolyn stayed until she left.<\/p>\n \n\tOK, let\u2019s talk about the wedding. You are mentioned but as a comparison to designer Willi Smith. What was your role in the wedding?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tIn 1996, I wasn\u2019t in my own design studio. Carolyn told me she was going to marry John, but already knew that was going to happen. Then she showed me a one-of-a-kind bias dress, from John Galliano that she wanted me to remake. I said, \u201cThat will have to be done by someone else.\u201d This is where Narciso comes in and I was then asked to handle John\u2019s wedding suit and his special keepsake for the wedding. \u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tJohn F. Kennedy Jr. attends Kathleen Kennedy and David Lee Townsend wedding in Virginia, 1973.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFairchild Archive<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tCan you tell me about that suit and the special meaning of the keepsake?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tSo, John\u2019s suit was a subtly striped wool navy blue, a nautical blue. I dressed John and his cousin, best friend, Anthony Roswell. I also made sure everyone in the groom\u2019s party was properly attired, from head to toe.\u00a0 John also asked for a keepsake, which I had made. It was a pair of light blue silk charmeuse boxer shorts with his initials and the groomsmen\u2019s initials embroidered on each leg. They were handed to each person in a cedar box. I don\u2019t know if anyone kept them, but that was very special and different. There was also the lavender boutonnieres and his shoes. All of it had a connection to the family, Hyannis Port and his father \u2014 John F. Kennedy.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat about the wedding venue, how did that come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tThat part. Well, Carolyn wanted a very private wedding, so John suggested the place, The Greyfield Inn. It was the southern abode for the Carnegie family, located on Cumberland Island in Georgia. It was a task just flying to that place. I accompanied her three times to scout it out. It was very remote. They had to have a lot of security and a very specific guest list. It was actually a beautiful place when I think back on it.<\/p>\n \n\tWhile 40 is the number most noted in the media then and in the storyline, Henderson recalls it was exactly 50 to 25 people per party.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tWas it always going to take place at the church on the island?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNo, not at all. We actually were scouring the beach in the area, that\u2019s where the wedding was supposed to take place. But on our second or third visit, we were there walking around \u2014 it was very hot and swampy, we were digging for clams, is when we accidentally came upon the church. We didn\u2019t know it was a church right away. To be honest it was so small and not in great shape. Carolyn fell in love with it immediately. She went crazy. I remember that vividly, as well as helping her decorate it, to make it feel more special.<\/p>\n \n\tThat iconic structure is actually the First African Baptist Church, built in 1893 for the slaves who once occupied Cumberland Island. Henderson also made note of the other structure on the island, a tinier house occupied by a woman named Carol Ruckdeschel, a naturalist, who is not actually mentioned in Murphy\u2019s storytelling. It was her scarves that help get Narciso\u2019s bias cut wedding dress onto Carolyn\u2019s body.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t How did everyone get on the island without giving everything away?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tCarolyn had a lot to do with that. Guests were given a special coin, specifically an Indian nickel, to get on the island. It was all about the security.<\/p>\n \n\tHow was your relationship with Carolyn after the wedding?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tOf course we remained friends. I can tell you that Carolyn was a great person; she and I partied a lot back then, when New York had all the velvet ropes and chose who got in the club. Both of us weren\u2019t New Yorkers and really didn\u2019t get it. Carolyn, though, was also very private, becoming more so after she moved to John\u2019s TriBeCa loft. She didn\u2019t want to be in the public eye. I couldn\u2019t imagine what that would be like with today\u2019s social media. It wasn\u2019t what she desired but she accepted that she had get used to it, because that was part of John\u2019s life everywhere they went. I actually attended many events she refused to go to because of the media attention.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tCarolyn Bessette Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and guests attend the Evelyn Lauder Breast Cancer Research Foundation in New York, 1998.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDavid Turner\/Fairchild Archive<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tBefore we go, how factual is the storytelling?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tWell, it seems, because I couldn\u2019t get through the first episode, lots of liberties have been taken. I guess it\u2019s today\u2019s television storytelling.<\/p>\n \n\tCould anything have been done to avoid the retelling of the tragedy that viewers will come to know about?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNo. Sadly. It is as it should be.<\/p>\n \n\tGordon Henderson\u2019s contributions to fashion remain essential to its history. He continues to work independently.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gordon Henderson\u2019s name may no longer be a prominent one in today\u2019s fashion conversation, but the Parsons alum and former fashion star once shared close ties to Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr., whose tabloid \u201clove story\u201d has reignited a nostalgic era in fashion. Henderson, who played a significant role in the real-life story and is portrayed in director Ryan Murphy\u2019s version, was a notable figure in the fashion world during his time. While the television series has sparked widespread nostalgia for the era, each episode also questions new truths about what really happened Henderson is introduced in the pilot episode; his story bears similarities to that of Anne Lowe \u2014 the designer behind Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy\u2019s iconic wedding gown \u2014 but unlike Lowe\u2019s overlooked contributions, Henderson\u2019s impact was well documented in Women\u2019s Wear Daily\u2019s coverage. After reconnecting with the designer for \u201cWWD Black In Fashion: 100 Years of Style, Culture & Influence,\u201d WWD reached back out to him about the series. From designing for Calvin Klein, starting his own brand, and playing an important role in his friend Carolyn\u2019s wedding to JFK Jr., here\u2019s what he said about the nostalgic timeline. When did you arrive at Calvin Klein? I arrived at Calvin after graduating from Parsons in 1984. I did work for other brands as well before going out on my own. I was hired as an assistant for Calvin Klein Collection, arriving just as the designer Zack Carr was leaving. Back then, the designers didn\u2019t want to see a portfolio; they were more interested in what you could actually produce. When I went to his office, with some of my work, he didn\u2019t seem to believe I made what I showed him \u2014 he liked me, but thought leaving me with his studio team\u2014seamstresses, tailors and patternmakers\u2014while he went to Italy would be the quickest way for me to learn. My first silhouette accepted for collection was a cinched-waist pant and skirt, that in hindsight I should\u2019ve kept, but it was a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13239"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/gh_clothes.jpg?w=300\")
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