“The Notebook” costume designer responds to Vanessa Bryant’s memorial story about Kobe gifting her blue dress from the movie

During the public memorial service for Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna at Los Angeles’s Staples Center on Feb. 24, the late NBA star’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, told mourners about how her romantic and thoughtful husband had once gifted her the blue dress worn by Rachel McAdams’ Allie when she “comes back to Noah” in the 2004 film “The Notebook.” Reports soon revealed that Vanessa first shared the story of Kobe’s incredible present (which also included a prop notebook and heels from the film) in a throwback Instagram post on Valentine’s Day 2013. In the wake of the news, The Hollywood Reporter reached out to the movie’s costume designer, Karyn Wagner. Karyn said she didn’t know the Bryants had the dress, which was custom-made for the beloved 2004 Nick Cassavetes movie that also starred Ryan Gosling. “I had zero idea. When I was finished with the movie, I put the dress in a box and it went into storage,” Karyn told THR. The costumer, who speculated that maybe Kobe purchased it through a connection he had with the filmmakers or studio, said when she heard Vanessa’s story on the memorial livestream, “I started bawling. I’m still drying the tears off my face. What a beautiful eulogy. I’m so honored that I was able to contribute in some small way to the history of this amazing man.”