Francois Zecca

01/15/2025

The story of who made the pink suit that Jackie wore has always been a subject of fascination and mystery.
The truth is , as told by Francois Zecca was that it was a Chanel copy made at a small boutique in Manhattan called Chez Niñon where society ladies would purchase French couture copies at a fraction of the cost.
Oleg Cassini was her official American designer. Francois Zecca was assigned by him to work on her entire collection of several hundred outfits. Francois did all her fittings at the Kennedy’s presidential suite in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in NYC. During these fittings he would often sit with Jackie afterwards smoke and converse in French. Her sister Lee and mother-in-law, Rose would often be there as well.
Occasionally, the First Lady used other designer’s clothes to the chagrin of Mr. Cassini. Jackie wanted to wear this cranberry colored suit by Chanel even before the fateful Dallas trip but Mr. Cassini and Francois advised her that it would look bad if she were seen in public wearing French Designs. The president loved the suit, stepped in and insisted she wear it. Mr. Cassini reluctantly said yes but it must be made in the USA, not in his studio and cannot have a Chanel label on it. He was furious. This was a compromise he made as Cassini was a good friend of the Kennedys. His brother Igor who was a journalist and friend of the Kennedys who often wrote favorable stories in the society columns of the family that Senior Joe Kennedy used to his family’s advantage. I mention this because the Cassini brothers had a long history with the family and could express their opinions freely.
The first step was that Mr. Cassini put in call to Coco Chanel and explained the uncomfortable situation. She agreed to send the material and buttons to New York where Francois Zecca oversaw the construction of the suit at the Chez Niñon Boutique with the help of a talented seamstress. The suit was made according to the specific measurements Francois last took of the First Lady. In a way, this was all done secretly as this embarrassed and angered Cassini. The rest is fashion history.
This suit is probably the most famous suit in the world and sits in a box bloodied at the National Archives from that sad day. The Kennedy family are the only ones that can give permission to have it displayed in public.
(photo by Cecil W. Stoughton and is in the public domain)

08/23/2023

Seen here is the work log of the Oleg Cassini Fashion House where Francois Zecca collaborated with Mr. Cassini to work on First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's favorite yellow wool/silk suit.

The First Lady first wore this suit to a luncheon with President and Madame de Gaulle at the Elysee Palace in Paris France on May 31, 1961 and to a luncheon with Prime Minister Harold Macmillan,in London, England on June 6, 1961. The following year, on June 28, 1962 she wore the suit to a ceremony celebrating the White House Guide book.

It is now on display at the JFK Library and Museum in Boston.

06/12/2022

This was part of a large spring collection that Francois Zecca collaborated with designer Oleg Cassini in the very early 1960’s. During that time he sometimes would travel to Milan, sketch in hand, to have beautiful Italian silks made for the designs. Take note of the use of bell bottoms used way before they became popular in the later 60’s. The Egyptian inspired gown perhaps was a nod to the popular movie at the time starring . Often these sketches were accompanied with swatches of material to be used along with handwritten notes.

08/17/2021

Probably one of the most important pieces Francois worked on was First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy's inaugural gown. She wore it to the gala on January 19th, 1961. It now can be seen on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC.

03/09/2021

This letter from Oleg Cassini mentions their collaboration together for over seventeen years. Mrs. Zecca, who passed away in Los Angeles in 2013, kept in touch with Mr. Cassini long after Francois passed away in 1984. Their collaboration produced several hundred pieces for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

12/06/2020

Today, my father Francois would have turned 100 years old. Born in Italy and raised in Paris, Francois was an sweet and artistic soul. He was a wonderful father who nurtured our artistic endeavors. He started as an artist and eventually followed his father's footsteps in the fashion world. He apprenticed with the couturier houses in Paris. After World War Two he immigrated to the New York City where eventually would work with legendary Oleg Cassini for 17 years. As head designer under Mr. Cassini they collaborated on a fresh modern Amercan look. Gone were the frills of fifties and in came a new simple fashion suited for the modern woman of the mid-century. These fashions still go on today and are memorialized in the fashions of First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy in which they created several hundred pieces during her stay in the Whitehouse. He was mentioned in the new novel, the "The Pink Suit". a semi-fictional account of the famous pink suit she wore when the president was assonated. Francois oversaw the making of that iconic suit which sits in a vault at the Smithsonian Museum. He was described as an elegant man. He was a French version of Cary Grant. Our family misses him till this day but every time I see a documentary on the First Lady, movies and the many designers who have copied the Jackie Look throughout the years, I know his touch in fashion history and memory as a wonderful father lives on.
Happy Birthday Dad!
Mark Zecca- son

12/05/2020

This a label used to ship the over two hundred pieces designed for the first lady that Francois and Oleg made exclusively for her while in the Whitehouse.

10/07/2017

This is a wonderful story of Francois Zecca and Oleg Cassini's part in the creation of this iconic suit.

I n November 1963, President John F. Kennedy and the First Lady of the United States were getting ready to leave for Dallas. President Ken...

09/25/2017

This novel is a fictionalized version of the making of this iconic suit. Francois was mentioned here trying to dissuade the First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy from wanting this suit because it was not an Oleg Cassini original. It was a Chanel copy made in NYC and over seen by him. Although not historically accurate this is a good read for fashionistas.