Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s Prada coat sold for hundreds of thousands at auction.
The Fashion Auctioneer, which sold the item, initially estimated the piece would sell for $15,000 to $30,000; however, the coat ultimately sold for a whopping $192,000.
The auction house’s website describes the single-breasted Prada coat, circa 1996, as having, “camel double-faced wool-angora, two flap pockets to chest and two slit pockets to hips, [and a] matching belt with faux tortoiseshell 'Prada' buckle.”
According to Page Six, the Prada coat is the most one of Bessette’s garments that has ever sold for. The Fashion Auctioneer’s Lucy Bishop, who managed the sale, told the outlet that the coat was bought by a museum, though she didn’t reveal its name.
The final price was reportedly $160,000, with the $192,000 including the buyer’s premium.
Bishop also shared that those drawn to the sale included “fans and fashion-loving women,” as well as “really serious private collectors, museums, and institutions.”
The coat is apparently one of Bessette’s most photographed pieces. She was photographed wearing it in March 1997 during a stroll with her husband, JFK Jr., and later, in October 1998, while walking their dog, Friday.
Bessette first gave the coat to JFK Jr.’s longtime assistant, RoseMarie Terenzio, who later gave the coat and a second camel Prada coat to her friend, Michele Ammon.
In addition to this Prada coat, Bessette’s auction also includes more items from Prada, Yohji Yamamoto, Calvin Klein, and Comme des Garçons.
Sadly, Bessette, JFK Jr., and her older sister, Lauren, died in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in 1999.
