an opportunity to purchase his famous look. However, his dream was quickly shattered when almost every high-end specialty retailer dropped his label. It would be decades before many high-end designers would reach the masses in discount stores. In 1983 Halston sold his company to Norton Simon in a multi-million dollar deal, not realizing he would quickly loose all creative control of a line that had become an empire. Halston, who for years had been labeled as quick-tempered, didn’t do himself any favors with his new partnership. Fashion periodicals referred to him as “greedy” and ‘unprofessional.” The designer continually failed to meet important deadlines for J.C. Penney and other smaller companies now under the Halston umbrella. His three-pack a day cigarette habit, combined with ever present dependency on cocaine and late nights at Studio 54, made matters worse. Veiled constantly in dark glasses, Halston simply stopped showing up for work. This eventually led to the designer being fired from Halston Enterprises. He was even was escorted out of his fashionable offices at Olympic Tower in New York. His constant presence on the nightlife scene at New York’s Studio 54 contributed to his hardpartying ways. In 1988, Halston revealed he carried the AIDS virus. He died in 1990 at age 57. Many close to the designer blamed his demise on his one-time partner Victor Hugo. People said Hugo introduced Halston to a hedonistic and drug-crazed lifestyle. Liza Minnelli and Elsa Peretti, who shot to great fame designing the best-selling teardrop bottle for Halston’s fragrances, put together a huge memorial for the late designer later that year at Lincoln Center. It was attended by absolutely everyone!
Perfume bottles, 1977
In early 2010, Halston Heritage, the revival of the iconic 1970s brand, was led by long-time Halston fan Sarah Jessica Parker. This line had been a revolving door with designers arriving and departing almost constantly since the late 1990s. Although Parker stayed for a few years, she, too, has since resigned from the label. The company has opened several freestanding stores in affluent shopping centers. They have met with mixed reviews from the fashion industry. Today the Halston line lives on, which has become the case with many deceased and oncefamous designers. He truly made his mark. We must remember that before any designer did anything, Halston did everything. He has also enjoyed the status of being the first celebrity designer long before such taglines were ever created.
Halston and the Halstonettes, 1981
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TRENDS MAGAZINE
Karen Bjornson, 1982