It’s been over 50 years since Jackie Kennedy tied the knot with Greek transport tycoon, Aristotle Onassis—and have become the well-known “Jackie O.” And whereas Jackie died in 1994, her apparel from that day continues to be making headlines. The Valentino gown she wore to say “I do” just lately bought for $24,320 at public sale, coming in at thrice its pre-sale estimate. Bought as a part of Bonhams’ “Traditional Luxurious: Type Icons” on-line sale, the two-piece gown appeared alongside different outfits worn by Jackie’s son, John F. Kennedy Jr., together with a Calvin Klein tuxedo, Calvin Klein swimsuit and black tie, and a Giorgio Armani overcoat. Every of this stuff additionally bought for greater than their unique public sale costs.
“The Kennedys are, with out query, probably the most distinguished households in fashionable American historical past,” Marissa Speer, the pinnacle of sale for purses and vogue at Bonhams mentioned in a press launch. “Jacqueline Kennedy’s 1968 couture ensemble will not be solely an essential piece of vogue historical past marking the emergence of probably the most fashionable girls on the planet—Jackie O—nevertheless it additionally showcases an essential design in maison Valentino’s historical past. The eventual promoting worth of the gown of $24,320 was a testomony to the rarity of the piece.”
The gown was beforehand owned—and put up for public sale—by shut mates of Jackie and Aristotle. The couple had reportedly helped Jackie pack up her belongings from Aristotle’s yacht, named Christina O, after he died in 1975.
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The couple’s marriage ceremony actually was a fashion-forward event. After the Greek tycoon proposed to Jackie with a 40-carat Marquise reduce Lesotho III diamond from Harry Winston, the couple hosted their nuptials on October 20, 1968, on the groom’s personal Greek island, Skorpios. The duo saved their Greek Orthodox ceremony small and intimate, inviting simply 40 friends. After saying “I do,” they migrated to Aristotle’s yacht for his or her marriage ceremony reception.
Jackie wore the knee-length Valentino gown for the nuptials, which featured many Sixties traits, together with a mock turtleneck, lengthy sleeves, and a pleated skirt. In line with Speer, the two-piece look was additionally a nontraditional selection that impressed future brides: “Jackie’s marriage ceremony gown was groundbreaking for the time, being an unconventional quick gown,” she advised Vogue. “The gown is a stepping stone in her transition from the Queen of Camelot to Jackie O: type icon, the place she was making her personal selections and exhibiting her independence by way of her type.”
The gown was a departure from Jackie’s first marriage ceremony gown—an ivory quantity with a portrait neckline, bouffant skirt, and embellished flowers. The designer of that gown, Ann Lowe (who had beforehand made customized clothes for Jackie’s mom), created it in simply 5 days after a burst waterline destroyed the primary robe she had made for the bride’s nuptials. Nonetheless, Individuals just lately reported that the silk-taffeta gown wasn’t the one which Jackie initially needed to put on, noting that the bride had initially requested a “less complicated, sleeker design” for her robe—a lot to her future father-in-law’s dismay.
Whereas the icon’s second marriage ceremony gown was the newest merchandise from her assortment to be listed at public sale, her ring from Aristotle was beforehand bought by Sotheby’s for $2.58 million in 1996. (It had initially been valued at $600,000.) The diamond was reportedly bought by Albert and Felice Lippert, the founders of Weight Watchers, on behalf of an unidentified purchaser.