The Tamesis
Yes, she’s a lover of Prada and Miu Miu, but she’s also a devoted fan of the brand of Yohji Yamamoto, one of the rebellious Japanese designers who upended the Parisian fashion scene. Keen to emulate his subtle, edgy style, she mainly buys clothes from the current fashion season. In today’s parlance, she was a “VIC” (very important customer) with whom the brand maintained a close relationship. From a strapless dress in Fall 1998 to a wrap skirt and Yohji Yamamoto Homme button-down shirt in Spring 1999, these looks are often her favorites.
Yamamoto’s quiet but devastating elegance echoed Bessette-Kennedy’s style, and her sartorial stoicism perhaps gave her a symbolic voice in the courtroom of public debate. (It’s not forgotten by many that in all the tabloid accounts of her life, there are only two clips of her speaking, both less than 10 seconds long.) If her choice of brands seems obvious now, that’s because the lessons of CBK style are somewhat of a prominent footnote in the history of how Japan’s avant-garde changed the fashion industry.
