Life began to imitate art for Grace Gummer and Sarah Pidgeon during New York Fashion Week. The pair were leaving the Saturday evening Khaite show arm in arm, and were greeted by a swarm of paparazzi that would rival the flashes felt by the women they play on “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.”
“It was weirdly meta,” Gummer recalls.
Gummer plays Caroline Kennedy, the older sister of John F. Kennedy Jr., in the new series, which premiered at the start of NYFW — meaning Gummer was a frequent face in the front rows, attending Proenza Schouler, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Tory Burch and Khaite.
“It’s so much fun to wear all these beautiful clothes, and it’s just in the right time and my show’s coming out. It’s just been so glamorous and fun,” Gummer says. “I had the best time.”
Grace Gummer with “Love Story” costar Paul Anthony Kelly at the Miu Miu party during NYFW.
Lexie Moreland/WWD
Khaite makes up “probably about 40 percent of my closet,” so was a standout for the actor.
“I had this leather trench on, but then underneath I had on this sort of muted, dark sage green-colored turtleneck sleeveless dress, and I would never wear a sleeveless anything in my day-to-day,” Gummer says. “But that dress, it looked so good. Just the way it was cut was so beautiful. I went out to dinner with my husband for Valentine’s Day after the show, and everyone at the restaurant was like, ‘who makes your dress?’”
While bouncing around town, Gummer fielded questions about “Love Story,” which has become an instant hit — particularly within the fashion crowd.
“I think there are people that watch it right away, but also I feel like these days a lot of people just binge-watch everything, and wait for it to all be together as one, so it’s not like immediately everybody recognizes me on the street,” Gummer says. “But definitely within the New York fashion community, a lot of people were like, ‘oh my god, I just watched your show. It’s incredible. The style’s amazing. The fashion’s amazing.’ It was such great timing, just to be out and about on that very day.”
Sarah Pidgeon, Naomi Watts and Grace Gummer at Khaite.
Rommel Demano/BFA.com/Courtesy of Khaite
Gummer has worked with “Love Story” producer Ryan Murphy before on four other projects including shows “American Horror Story: Freak Show” and “All’s Fair,” and spoke with him early on about the role of Caroline.
“I was just so honored and excited to be a part of something so well made and well crafted and well told and also so chic and glamorous and set in New York,” she says. “It was sort of fit all the boxes of what I wanted to be doing.”
“I just have so much admiration and respect for Caroline,” Gummer adds. “She’s such a strong, powerful woman of integrity. She’s just such a fundamentally decent, private person, and in our show becomes a very important and trusted voice of reason for John.”
As for her favorite episode of the series? We’ll have to wait until March 26.
“The finale!”
