FX’s “Love Story” captivated TV aficionados with its meticulous recreation of both John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s whirlwind romance and the larger 1990s world in which they lived. Its sets and costumes could have been ripped straight from the pages of George magazine, and the lavish attention to detail played a major role in the show’s success.
It was a hot topic during IndieWire’s Craft Roundtables, in which “Love Story” costume designer Rudy Mance broke down his extensive research process and steadfast refusal to allow historical inaccuracies to slip through the cracks.
“By the end of the shoot, the fitting room looked like I was a crazy, obsessive serial killer,” Mance said. “Because it was literally every single photograph that I could find of the two of them. My team and I really tried to be as exact as possible. We had so many fittings.”
Mance and his team were fully committed to their vision of historically accurate costumes, but it could not have been executed to its full extent without willing actors. Mance went on to praise his stars Paul Anthony Kelly (who played Kennedy) and Sarah Pidgeon (who played Bessette) for their endless willingness to participate in the costuming process. In addition to the fabulous on-screen looks, the process allowed Mance to walk away with some unique photos of his own — a fitting souvenir for a show about a romance that unfolded through the glossy pages of tabloid magazines.
“They were both incredible. They wanted to get it just as right and just as accurate as I did,” he said. “Once you would get the script you would look at it and say ‘Alright, let’s do this look for here.’ I’d show them the picture of what we were recreating and then they would do the same pose and we’d do a side-by-side.”
This conversation is presented in partnership with FX.
“IndieWire Craft Roundtables” will premiere on PBS SoCal on Thursday, June 11 with subsequent re-airings scheduled throughout the weekend.
