For Immediate Release Contact: Pat Kremer/Nancy O’Shea (312) 665-7100 (For Media Use Only) She Created an Image While the exhibition displays many of Jacqueline Kennedy’s signature outfits and accessories—from pillbox hat and sunglasses to A-line dresses and elegant formal gowns—it is far more than a fashion show, says Field Museum president and CEO John McCarter. “People through the ages, in every part of the world, have used clothing and personal adornment to create identities for themselves and their cultures,” McCarter explains. “This exhibition examines how Jacqueline Kennedy created her own public image, and how that image relates to the change in American cultural perspective—the emphasis on youth and vigor, internationalism and culture—that began in the early 1960s.” Mrs. Kennedy publicly feigned innocence of her role. “What does my hairdo have to do with my husband’s ability to be President?” she wrote from the campaign trail. But this, too, was part of the image. She was well aware of her power, and she used it both wisely and well. “I know that I am so much more of fashion interest than other First Ladies,” she told her fashion coordinator, Oleg Cassini. Cassini himself was chosen precisely to project an image: the American fashion magazines had begun to criticize Mrs. Kennedy’s French tastes; and unlike the more famous designers of the day, who were predominantly French, Cassini was an American, working in New York. (Though born in Paris and raised in Florence, he became a U.S. citizen in 1942.) With Cassini and others—including Halston and other American designers, as well as French design houses such as Chez Ninon, Givenchy, and Chanel—Mrs. Kennedy chose uncluttered styles that used subtleties of construction to emphasize the wearer rather than the clothes. This understated look—formerly the province of the upper classes and French design—was quickly embraced by the public in America and around the globe. Continue