Fashion designer Sarah Staudinger is the buyer of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s collection at a recent Sotheby’s auction, the company revealed on Wednesday. Their Fashion Icons sale, which included a variety of rare designer items, achieved a total of $1.1 million.
Staudinger cofounded her eponymous label Staud with business partner George Augusto in 2015. The Los Angeles-based brand has cultivated a following around its kitschy handbags and chic eveningwear, though they’ve also branched out into shoes, swim and pet apparel.
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Bessette-Kennedy is a longtime style icon of Staudinger’s, Sotheby’s confirmed, and now the designer has her hands on three pieces of fashion history. The late Calvin Klein publicist’s Prada and vintage leopard coats, as well as a Yohji Yamamoto jacket, were up for sale at Sotheby’s, where they fetched a combined $177,600.
“These garments speak volumes about her tragically short but remarkable life,” Lucy Bishop, fashion specialist at Sotheby’s, said in a statement earlier this fall. “They reveal a woman who made considered choices, navigated public scrutiny with intelligence and grace, displaying a generosity and kindness that touched those around her. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy understood the power of dressing well, and this belief is forever reflected in these clothes.”
Bessette-Kennedy bequeathed these belongings to RoseMarie Terenzio, the former assistant of her husband, John F. Kennedy Jr. Terenzio was also close friends with the couple, who tragically died in a plane crash in the summer of 1999.
Terenzio describes Bessette-Kennedy as her “fashion fairy godmother,” and fondly recalls being gifted her faux fur leopard coat in her book, “Fairy Tale Interrupted: A Memoir of Life, Love and Loss.” Bessette-Kennedy reportedly purchased the retro outerwear at a Parisian flea market.
“Whenever I had a date, Carolyn would say, ‘What are you wearing? Come down, and we’ll pick something out for you,’” Terenzio wrote.
Bessette-Kennedy’s double-breasted Yohji Yamamoto jacket features padded hips and a cinched waist. She wore the wool piece at a Municipal Art Society gala in 1997, which celebrated Robert De Niro. The actor received the prestigious Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal for his contributions to the arts and New York City’s cultural landscape.
In recent years, Staud has collaborated with brands such as New Balance and Birkenstock. They have several boutiques around the United States, including in New York, Palm Beach and East Hampton.
