Sarah Pidgeon's Custom Calvin Klein Dress Honors CBK's Legacy at the 2026 'Vanity Fair' Oscar Party
She's waited all awards season to wear the publicist's fashion alma mater.
Love Story star Sarah Pidgeon waited until Episode 7 dropped to wear something custom from Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's fashion industry alma mater, Calvin Klein. Better yet, she debuted her CK Collection dress on Hollywood's second buzziest stage: the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
Senior fashion news editor Halie LeSavage predicted CBK-inspired minimalism would get "its long-awaited red carpet moment" at the Oscars after-party, especially "given that Love Story star Sarah Pidgeon is also making the rounds." An hour after Marie Claire's celebrity fashion expert manifested it, Pidgeon made her Oscars debut in a "platinum crystal and sequin-encrusted floor-length gown," according to the label.
Sarah Pidgeon arrived at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in custom Calvin Klein, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's alma mater.
Pidgeon's silhouette—specifically the spaghetti-thin straps and column shift—was the embodiment of '90s simplicity. The bodice's top layer folded outward as effortlessly as John F. Kennedy Jr.'s notepad, before cascading down to the coordinating red carpet. Stark white Stuart Weitzman sandals emerged from beneath Pidgeon's skirt.
Her step-and-repeat was one of the evening's finest.
Why Calvin Klein Collection? Before marrying JFK Jr., Bessette-Kennedy became a prominent pillar in New York City's style scene through her publicist position at Calvin Klein. By playing CBK in the FX biopic series, Pidgeon has become permanently linked with the label.
The homages to her Love Story character continued with Pidgeon's The One Clutch Bag. Calvin Klein modeled the part-crossbody, part-flask Fall 2025 purse after the iconic CK One fragrance. Turns out, the perfume launched in 1994, seven years into Bessette-Kennedy's nine-year run at Calvin Klein. Clearly, Pidgeon and stylist Emma Jade Morrison are well-versed in CBK's world.
Yes, Pidgeon is a Calvin Klein girl by association, but she's only publicly worn the brand on one other occasion. On Feb. 11, the actor and her Love Story co-star, Paul Anthony Kelly, went on Good Morning America, dressed in staples straight from their character's closets. Pidgeon, for one, sourced Look 48 from Calvin Klein's Spring 2026 runway show: a billowy, little white dress, featuring a pleated, bubble-hem skirt. Just like Alex Consani on the catwalk, Pidgeon wrapped a matching tulle scarf around her neck.
The actor is keeping Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's sartorial legacy front-and-center, one outfit at a time. Simultaneously, she's expanding her understated aesthetic far beyond black turtlenecks and straight-leg jeans. For instance, she could've just styled a neutral slip dress from Calvin Klein Collection at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. Bessette-Kennedy rarely wore jewelry, much less rhinestones on her CK selects. By styling anti-CBK crystals anyway, Pidgeon modernized the fashion muse's almost 30-year-old signatures, just as she's done on the Love Story press tour.
