Monday Muse: HALSTON
When I heard that Netflix was releasing a limited series about the iconic fashion designer, Halston, I could not have been more excited. Casting Ewan McGregor as Halston, the show follows his incredible rise to fame, his undeniable taste and creativity, and ultimately his downfall through a combination of self-destructive drug habits, over-commercialization of his brand, and finally HIV. Famous faces abound with Liza Minelli (played by Krysta Rodriguez), Elsa Peretti (Rebecca Dayan), Andy Warhol, Steve Rubel of Studio 54, and all the glitz and glamour of my favorite fashion era.
Halston is THE designer of the 70s disco era. He first rose to fame by designing the pillbox hat worn by Jackie Kennedy for JFKs presidential inauguration. Once hats fell out of fashion, he began designing dresses instead. He became successful with his sexy, sensual designs made in luxe fabrics like silk and ultrasuede. He understood the way that women wanted to fell in their clothes, comfortable, sexy, and effortlessly cool. His evening gowns became the look to wear to the iconic Studio 54, where he would often hold court with Liza, Andy, and Bianca Jagger. He became so successful that his name could be found on everything from luggage to the interior and uniforms for Braniff Airways. He even designed the U.S. Olympic Team’s uniforms in 1976. Halston was a bonafide American icon.
One of his biggest successes was his perfume in the iconic Elsa Peretti-designed bottle. The bottle featured no logo or name, which epitomized Halston’s understated chicness.
Halston embodied everything his brand was about and led his life with such creative vision and dedication to taste. He was mysterious, cool, and dressed to kill no matter where he went. He’s magnetic. As an artist, I aspire to his level of dedication to his vision. Halston wasn’t much of a business man, he was an artist, and when art and business interact, strange things can happen. Halston wanted to stay true to his vision as an artist, but his investors had other ideas. I admire Halston for his resolve, which at times seems petulant and childish, but it is amazing how he never sacrificed his creative vision.
One thing that I delighted in was how the show gave us inside glimpses to Halston’s intimate spaces, his offices and workshop at the Olympic Tower in New York, his Manhattan apartment, and Montauk seaside escape. I have drooled over these spaces many times on Pinterest, and their understated elegance never ceases to excite me. Halston’s home is modern without seeming cold, luxurious without being garish, and balances bold with refinement better than any space I’ve ever seen.
If I had a time machine, Studio 54 is probably the first place I’d go. For the music, for the fashion, for the celebrity, and for Halston. Halston epitomizes that time in American life and revolutionized American fashion forever. Many have followed in his footsteps, hello Tom Ford, but none can truly be what Halston was to the 1970s and continues to be. Although the end of his life was sad, from business deals gone wrong, to the alienation of his closest friends, to his eventual demise due to HIV complications, he has left a fashion legacy that makes one feel glamorous just by looking at photos of his work. Whenever I think about Halston I think about feeling good in my skin, maybe showing a bit of it off, feeling young and free and fun no matter your age, and dancing til morning. I think of dedication to the look, to the vision, to the artistry that only a true artist can understand. I also think of being selective, honing my eye for details, and living for the very best in life. That is what Halston means to me.
Are you watching the Halston show? I highly recommend and can’t wait to hear what you think about it!
