Halston- 1932- 1990

Halston pg. 301

THE MODERN HALSTON

Halston- Spring/Summer 2011- VideoFashion Daily- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slAzg7385hk

BIOGRAPHY

Halston pg. 24

Roy Halston Frowick was born on April 23, 1932 in Des Moines, Iowa.  It would have been incredible to witness how Roy, more commonly Halston, rose to become the iconic fashion designer he is recognized as being today.  Halston's designs, specifically his signature pieces during the 1970's, influenced the world and his influence is still present in this very day.  It is inevitable that his work has inspired other designers, Donna Karen stated that "Halston is one of the most influential designers of our time" (Grott and Rottman pg. 225).  Halston began his career by studying fashion illustration at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1952.  By 1958, Halston felt that a change was needed in his life if he wanted to make something of himself and decided to move to New York City, the fashion capital of the world.  Many do not know but, Halston began his career as a milliner working with Lilly Dache and moved his way up working for Bergdorf Goodman by 1959 and in 1966 he created his first clothing collection for the prestigious retailer.  With the success he reached at Bergdorf Goodman, Halston built a strong foundation and quickly opened his own company, Halston, Ltd.  Halston's career kicked into over drive and by 1972 he opened his first boutique and launched his ready-to-wear collection, Halston Originals.  Being the business man that Halston was he decided that it would be in his benefit to sell his booming businesses and the Halston trademark to Norton Simon Industries (NSI) in 1973 in the height of his career.  By 1978 Halston was designing multiple collections ranging from ready-to-wear, sportswear, and made-to-order.  The brand was brought to life and Halston expanded into other areas such furs, shoes, swimwear, robes, intimate apparel, menswear, luggage and uniforms (most popular uniforms were produced for Braniff Airline employees).  With such a large amount of success comes backlash and Bergdorf Goodman decided to drop Halston's ready-to-wear collections from their store due to Halston's million dollar deal with J.C. Penny.  The 1980's brought a lot of hardships for the designer has his personal life entered the spotlight and was under constant scrutiny as rumors of drug use, wild partying, and anger issues were brought into play.  In 1984, Halton decided to take a vacation from Halston Enterprises and to much a surprise never returned.  After his constant attempts to buy back parts of the company, his effort was unsuccessful.  Adding to the hardships, Halston tested positive for HIV in 1998 and later died from complications on March 26, 1990.  Regardless of the rough times, Halston will remain a legend for years to come.        

Biography Section- (Berg Fashion Library- Fred Rottman- Source A-Z of Fashion) (Lovinski- The World's Most Influential Fashion Designer's- pg. 48-51).

EARLY INFLUENCES

Halston's early influences would be his designs in general.  While Halston was enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago, he began designing hats in his spare time.  Has Halston began to perfect the art of hat making, he started to sell his designs at Andre Basil's hair salon located at the Ambassador Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.  After his move to the Big Apple, he worked with Lilly Dache who was a legendary milliner and moved into working in the custom millinery salon of Bergdorf Goodman, launching his career.  It was that same year, 1959, when he designed his famous pillbox hat worn by the First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy for the 1961 presidential inauguration.  We can determine that hats, hats, and more hats is what ultimately launched his career as it advanced from a hobby to a successful business.

Early Influences- (Berg Fashion Library- Fred Rottman- Source A-Z of Fashion).

Halston pg. 43

DESIGNS- DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE

Halston pg. 45

Halston pg. 50

Halston pg. 77

Halston pg. 286

Halston pg. 361

Halston pg. 363

Halston pg. 452

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Halston was very aware of the zeitgeist of his times and was able to use it to his advantage.  In the 1950's, Post World War II era, women were demanding equal rights and shortly after the social shift occurred in women and the sexual revolution was born.  Women wanted to feel as if they were sexy and attractive yet, professional and comfortable all at the same time.  Halston was able to capitalize on the wants of the woman and designed clothing that was in high demand for the times.  In 1973, Halston was quoted stating the following about the times, "The American look in fashion is coming to the fore.  The modern way of life is American and it has to work for the world market.  All of a sudden the American designer, if he has an original point-of-view and a product, has an opportunity he never had" (Lovinski pg. 48).  This very statement reigned true to Halston for his vision was unique and the product he was producing fell right into place as he himself was an American designer, designing and creating what it meant to be an American during his time.  Also being aware of the spirit of the times, Halston noticed that the modern day woman wanted to wear pants stating, "They (pants) give women freedom they have never had before and she is not about to give them up" (Lovinski pg. 48).  During the 1970's, the wearing of pants by women were coming into fashion and Halston was able to jump on the band wagon giving the women exactly what they wanted.  While Halston was designing this was also a time of the corporate take over in the fashion industry.  Being the amazing business man he was, he decided to be at the forefront of this corporate take over being one of the first designers to license his image and take advantage of fashion-related items that he himself did not produce.  This allowed Halston to design clothing at all price points, which in return allowed the mass market to share in the glamorous image of the designer.  Even though this is very much a standard practice today and is how many designers produce their collections today, at the time this was not as popular; that is to use the clothing solely as a promotional tool.  This is how Halston was able to become the iconic designer we know and love today. 

Halston was greatly influenced by a number of talented designers before him and during his era which include: Madeleine Vionnet, Claire McCardell, Mainbocher, Hubert de Givenchy and Elsa Peretti.  There are a lot of similarities between Vionnet and Halston.  Vionnet's designs were founded on the idea of movement with draping and the continuous fixation on the bias cut dress and the idea of the seamless dress.  Vionnet also used subtle colors, few patterns, dressed the rich and famous, and dresses provided classical craftsmanship all of which Halston's designs instilled.  In the 1970's Halston created the savage bathing suit which is very similar to Claire McCardell's diaper suit, only with a lower decolletage.  Halston was fascinated with McCardell's use of spaghetti straps, adjustable waist bans and bias cut fabric so much that he created his own five interchangeable wardrope pieces hoping to pack it easier for working women to pack.  Mainbocher is known for his chic yet, uncomplicated gowns that did not lack sophistication and luxury just as Halston's work displayed.  In fact, Halston's 1973 Spring collection was a homage to Mainbocher.  The reason why Givenchy influenced Halston is deeper than similar design aesthetic.  Givenchy was one of the first designers to focus in on a muse, Givenchy's muse was the iconic actress, Audrey Hepburn.  Halston's muse was Liza Minnelli.  Halston and Elsa Peretti worked hand and hand together, more times than none Peretti is lost in translation.  However, Peretti designed perfume bottles, bags, jewelry and intimate apparel for the Halston brand. 

Critical Analysis- (Lovinski- The World's Most Influential Fashion Designers pg. 48-51)

ANALYSIS OF FUTURE TRENDS

Following in the footsteps of Vionnet, Halston was also on the quest of designing dresses with the fewest seams and closures possible as he found them to be intrusive to the overall silhouette.  Therefore, Halston is well known for the use of the bias which is cutting diagonally across the fabric, rather than straight along the grain.  Halston wanted the woman to be sensual and evocative, "I just think bias is more sexy.  I keep cutting straight-grained clothes and they all look to familiar somehow.  The bias gives you a plus.  At night I think you want to be turned on and there is nothing more of a turn on than a fabric which hits the body the way bias does.  It adds another dimension of softness" (Lovinski pg. 49). The bias cut dress redefined by Halson will indeed continue into the future as the new designers will set forth the quest for the perfect seamless dress just has Vionnet and Halston. 

Halston pg. 442

Isaac Mizrahi states that "He was the maker of society---he decided it was as much fun to be with a princess as with Pat Ast" (Halston).  Of course Mizrahi was referring to Halston has being the maker of society, which he is indeed.  As mentioned in the Critical Analysis section, Halston was designing pants for women during the 1970's when pants were still be ridiculed by society.

Halston pg. 60

It is my personal opinion that Halston was able to continue Vionnet's vision and create iconic bias cut dresses better than Vionnet (even though I love Vionnet's work as well).  When we think of the 1970's and the designs produced, Halston will always be connected to this era because he had such a lasting impact on the way women dressed, including producing pants that have never been seen or done in this format before.  It may have been the luck of the draw for Halston was designing in the right time frame where pants were popular but, we all can see that pants have became a major staple in anyone's closet, pants were not just a fad that Halston produced, they were a lasting silhouette in the fashion industry which opened doors for many other designers to after his time.

The video featured under THE MODERN HALSTON section was the collection that young designer Marco Zanini designed for the Halston brand in 2011.  Unfortunately, several attempts as such have been made to revive the iconic brand yet, have fell short making no excitement in the industry.  However, Zanini's designs were a homage to the late Halston and his designs.  Zanini is not the only known designer to follow in the foot steps of Halston, follow designers such as Stephen Burrows, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and Marc Jacobs have been influenced by Halston.  Designer Stephen Burrows actually had one on one interaction with the iconic designer.  Burrows is well known for his clean use of draped fabrics similar to Halston's aesthetic.  Halston was actually the person who encouraged Burrows to open his own store in New York City and with the guidance of Halston, Burrows did just that.  Many people often mistake that famous well known designers such as Calvin Klein were one of a kind in their own right.  One aspect of this is very accurate however, Klein was influenced by Halston in many ways.  Klein continued the message of Halston were Halston left off in the 1970's and early 80's, spreading the word of simplicity and wear ability in his designs.  Klein also used soft neutrals and pastels that worked for the modern working woman of the times but like Halston never skipped out of the luxury and expensive fabrications that embodied sexiness and confidence.  Taking Halston's influence one step further, Klein was able to learn from Halston's licensing mistakes and built an empire where he was in full control.  It is no doubt that Donna Karan has looked towards Halston's clean uncomplicated lines to create her own designs full of draped and knit dresses that Halston was well known for.  Flash forward to Marc Jacobs 2007 where his collection embodied knit dressing, long lean silhouettes, matte jersey dresses, and sheet sequin pieces that is reminiscent of Halston's design aesthetic. 

I think is it vital to understand Halston's work and how it has shaped the fashion industry of today.

Analysis of Future Trends- (Lovinski- The World's Most Influential Fashion Designers pg. 48-51).

Halston pg. 34

Works Cited

2011, VideoFashion Daily- Halston S/S. YouTube. n.d. 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slAzg7385hk.

Fashion, Fred Rottman- Source A-Z of. Berg Fashion Library. n.d. February 2012 http://www.bergfashionlibrary.com/view/bazf/bazf00285.xml?q=halston&isfuzzy=no#div00285-d1e69.

Halston. New York City, New York: Phaidon Press Limited, 2001.

Lovinski, Noel Palomo. The World's Most Influential Fashion Designers. Hauppauge, New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 2010.