Table of Biography
Halston was an American fashion designer. Halston is a celebrated name and a brand that rose to fame in the 1970s. He primarily gained fame for his excellent work with hats and later went on to gain popularity for his dress creations, especially for women.
Early Life and Education
He was born on April 23, 1932, and he was originally from Des Moines, Iowa, the U.S. He later moved to Evansville, Indiana, at the age of ten.
Unfortunately, he passed away on March 26, 1990, aged 57 years. Talking about his family, his father is James Edward Frowick and his mother is Hallie Mae (née Holmes).
His father is a Norwegian-American accountant whereas his mother is a stay-at-home wife. Moreover, he had two siblings.
His elder brother’s name is Donald E. Frowick whereas his sister’s name is Sue Frowick Watkins.
Further, his full name is Roy Halston Frowick but he later dropped his first and last names. He rather preferred the moniker.
He developed an interest in sewing from an early age. Likewise, He started by creating hats and altering clothes for his mother and sister.
Also, he first hat appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar in the year 1960.
Talking about his educational journey, he graduated from Benjamin Bosse High School in the year 1950.
He also briefly attended Indiana University and later enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
While attending night courses at the Art Institute, he worked as a fashion merchandiser at the upscale chain department store called “Carson Pirie Scott”.
Caption: Halston photographed with his actress and singer friend Liza Minnelli during an event. Source: Pochta
Halston – Death
In the year 1988, He tested positive for HIV. After his health began to fail, he moved to San Francisco, and there he was cared for by his family.
Then on March 26, 1990, at age 57 years old, he died of Kaposi’s sarcoma. It is an AIDS-defining illness. He passed away at the Pacific Presbyterian Medical Center in San Francisco.
Halston – Personal Life
Despite his achievements, His increasing drug use and failure to meet deadlines undermined his success in the fashion industry.
Then in 1984, he was fired from his own company. Subsequently, he lost the right to design and sell clothes under his name.
However, he continued to design costumes for his friends Liza Minnelli and Martha Graham. He died of lung cancer and complications of AIDS in San Francisco, California, in the year 1990.
Talking about his love life before his untimely demise, he was in an on-again-off-again romantic relationship with Victor Hugo.
Hugo is a Venezuelan-born artist. The two met while Hugo was working as a make-up artist in the year 1972.
They began a relationship and Hugo lived on and off in the home. Soon, he hired his lover to work as his window dresser.
The duo’s on-and-off relationship lasted for a little over ten years. According to The New York Times, he had an affair with fashion designer Luis Estevez.
Caption: Halston captured the Venezuelan-born artist Victor Hugo with whom he had an on-and-off relationship for a decade. Source: Pines history
Career and Professional Life
Professionally, he was a fashion designer and he rose to international fame in the 1970s.
The minimalist and clean designs often made of cashmere or Ultrasuede were a new phenomenon in the mid-1970s discotheques and redefined American fashion.
He was popular for creating a relaxed urban lifestyle, especially for American women. He was also often photographed at Studio 54 with his close friends Liza Minnelli, Bianca Jagger, and artist Andy Warhol.
Moreover, in the early 1950s, he began a business designing and making women’s hats while still attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Later, after he had gained a well-known clientele, he went on to open a store on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile in the year 1957.
Later on, he went on to become the head milliner for the high-end New York City department store “Bergdorf Goodman”.
Further, his fame rose even further when he designed the pillbox hat that Jacqueline Kennedy wore to the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in 1961.
Then in the late 1960s, he made the transition to women’s clothing. He opened a boutique on Madison Avenue in New York and started a ready-to-wear line.
Soon, his friends and clients included some of the most alluring and well-known women in the world.
This included Rita Hayworth, Liza Minnelli, Marlene Dietrich, and Diana Vreeland among many others. Further, he was nominated for Broadway’s 1978 Tony Award as Best Costume Designer for “The Act.”
After several ill-advised business decisions, he eventually lost control of his fashion house in the 1980s.
After a decade of this event, he, unfortunately, passed away due to AIDS-related cancer. He was only at the age of 57 years old at the time of his demise.
Caption: Halston photographed with his muses for US Vogue in the year 1972. This also includes actress Angelica Huston. Source: Viva/Duane Michals
More details
His hat designs brought the fantastic to whimsy. Likewise, he used all manner of jewels, flowers, and fringe to decorate hoods, bonnets, and coifs.
He began designing women’s wear in 1966, offering a perfect look for the international jet set of his era. His line of clothing was popular for sexy, yet elegant pieces.
In the fall of 1972, he introduced a simple shirtwaist dress made from Ultra suede. It is a fabric that is washable, durable, and beautiful.
Two years later, he also offered the world his most iconic design. It was a halter dress. The halter dress was an instant hit in America’s discotheques.
This dress gave women a narrow, elongated silhouette. Additionally, his trademark sunglasses were wearable both day and night and this completed the look.
He was famous as the first designer to fully license himself as a brand onto itself. Moreover, his influence went beyond style to reshape the business of fashion.
Through a licensing agreement with JC Penney, he then created designs that were accessible to women at a variety of income levels.
He also became influential in uniform design. He went on to change the entire feel of Braniff International Airways’ staff uniforms.
Moreover, his designs became omnipresent as he went on to design and license his name on thirty-one different licensing products.
This included a range of home linen, uniforms for Braniff International Airlines, and a line of luggage for “Hartmann”.
Throughout most of the seventies, he epitomized the glamour as well as the decadence of the era. He then went on to become a central figure in the nightlife scene of New York’s Studio 54 disco.
Further, he went on to create one of the best-selling fragrances of all time. It is in his signature tear-drop-shaped perfume bottle designed by Elsa Peretti.
“Halston” after his demise
Since his death, numerous owners and designers have reinvented the “Halston” label. However, none of them lasted long.
This was the case until Harvey Weinstein followed advice from stylist Rachel Zoe and bought the label along with Jimmy Choo. Choo is the founder of Tamara Mellon and the two of them bought it in March 2007.
After they bought the label, they appointed Marios Schwab as the creative director in May 2009.
Then in the year 2009, the label launched a diffusion line called “Halston Heritage”. For this, they made Sarah Jessica Parker the president and chief creative officer in January 2010.
However, there were reports in July 2010 that Parker, Weinstein, and Schwab were no longer working at either of the labels. At present, the Label is led by Chief Creative Officer Robert Rodriguez.
This label continues to evolve the HALSTON legacy. It is a luxury lifestyle brand that mixes legacy codes with a modern edge to create an effortless collection of women’s ready-to-wear dresses.
Commemoration
In June 1990, Liza Minnelli sponsored a tribute at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. This event followed a reception hosted by his friend Elsa Peretti.
Likewise, in the year 2010, Halston was the subject of the documentary Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston.
Moreover, from November 2014 to January 2015, the Warhol Museum sponsored a traveling exhibition entitled Halston and Warhol Silver and Suede. Also, his niece Lesley Frowick co-curated this exhibition.
Then from February to April 2015, the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City held an exhibition. This was to celebrate the 1970s fashions.
Caption: There are several documentaries celebrating Halston’s work and life. Source: WamerMedia
Additionally, his Style, a retrospective of his career, opened at the Nassau County Museum in March 2017.
His niece Lesley Frowick curated the retrospective and it features material derived from his archives that he gave to Lesley before his death.
Lesley Frowick also authored the accompanying catalog called Halston: Inventing American Fashion.
Frédéric Tcheng also directed the documentary called Halston and they released it in August 2019. This documentary revived interest in Halston and The Halstonettes.
Then in May 2019, The New York Times released an article, Halston’s Women Have Their Say. This article outlined many of the Halstonette women reflecting on their experiences.
CNN published a similar article in August of the same year. The article is titled Free Inside Our Clothes: Top Models Remember What It Was Like to Walk a Halston Show.