We sat down with the amazing costume designer Chris Hargadon to get all the behind-the-scenes scoop we could about working on The Kennedys miniseries and – of course – Katie Holmes. Here’s what we found out:
Over 300 costumes were created for the 6 leads in the series, and at any given time over 3,000 costumes were on hand for all the cast members and extras for a scene.
To maintain a classic look of the original design of period garment, authentic vintage fabrics were used for the production of the garments so the clothing embraced the same weight, drape and original design elements from the originals.
While in the White House, Jackie Kennedy’s trendsetting style was inspired by her time in Paris before she met her husband Jack. She was drawn to the sense of elegance and couture that Paris embodied, and was even criticized when she first arrived at the White House for not supporting American designers. That was when she started collaborating with French-born American designer Oleg Cassisni to create her signature style.
Jackie always liked to wear bold colors and bright hues, and after Jack’s assassination she had to have Oleg Cassini create a brand-new ensemble for her because she did not own any black. Jackie wore the two-piece suit that was tailored for her on several occasions during her mourning period and the short time she had left in the White House.
Contrary to popular belief, Jackie Kennedy was not a fan of wearing hats. In fact, if you look at pictures before and after Jackie was at the White House, you never see her wearing hats - she took on the trend as an obligation while JFK was in presidency, acquiring the look especially for the White House. Because she did not favor wearing hats, she wore them farther back on her head to keep them out of her face – perhaps spawning a new trend?
Be sure to check out all of Chris’s costumes in our exclusive SeenOn sale, happening now, and tune in to Reelz on Sunday for The Kennedys miniseries!
