Halston might just be the cat of American fashion, the brand with at least nine lives and counting since its legendary namesake, Roy Halston Frowick, died in 1990 from Kaposi sarcoma, an AIDS-defining illness.
His magic, creativity, and innovation in women’s fashion have been attempted to be replicated by designers such as Randolph Duke, Bradley Bayou, Kevan Hall, Marco Zanini, and Marios Schwab. Bold-face names such as now-incarcerated Harvey Weinstein, Tamara Mellon, and Rachel Zoe rallied to revive the brand at one stage. In another attempt, Sarah Jessica Parker creative directed the Halston Heritage line, which was promoted on Sex and the City.
While Revlon retained the beauty rights, other businesses that have owned the brand include Tropic Tex, Catterton-Simon, Neema Clothing, and Hilco Consumer Capital. Even former Halstonette Chris Royer took part in preserving the brand by becoming its archivist during the Mellon-Weinstein era. (Zoe reportedly did not stay involved with that revival).
Since 2015, all except for the beauty division have been in the hands of Xcel Brands, which bills itself as a consumer products and live-streaming media company, generating over $500 million in annual retail sales. Besides Halston, its roster includes C. Wonder, Christian Siriano’s HSN brand; Logo by Lori Goldstein and Isaac Mizrahi; two labels sold on QVC plus Judith Ripka and home goods Longaberger, who both distribute on brand websites.
In 2022, the group, which also distributes the moderate-priced H by Halston, tapped retail veteran Ken Downing as its chief creative officer to revamp the line. FashionNetwork.com chatted with Downing at the brand’s 10th Avenue showroom about its latest iteration.
“I lightly leaned on the archives, but we didn’t rely on this collection’s past. Halston has been dead for decades, and he wouldn’t still be designing those things,” Downing said while directing a fit model to demonstrate the new designs under his tutelage.
A case in point, what might be the anchor piece of the collection dubbed ‘I am Halston’ is a sequined T-shirt style dress that bears Halston’s image borrowed from a late sixties photograph.
Downing aims to elevate the brand name once more, a Herculean task considering the diffusion line product that current-day consumers might associate with the brand (a new red label with a bold typeface is planned for starters).
Downing is imbibing the brand with some of his own panache with a fresher take on its execution to attract a younger customer. To wit, snappier styles such as a multi-use tailored jacket based on one of Halston’s own, but feminized with an oversized silk flower closure.
A sequin pantsuit that recalls Tom Ford’s Gucci days (Ford was known to borrow heavily from Halston and Saint Laurent, so it tracks) will also resonate. He is also retaining some of the current ladies. The creative designer describes her as “the chair of the gala, the mother of the groom, or hosting a bar mitzvah,” adding, “These are clothes for special events in her life.”
Like Halston before him, who was known for bringing sportswear into eveningwear, Downing plans to expand the notion of the label beyond cocktail and evening dressing. He leans into the DNA the designer was known for, such as jersey and cashmere; a hallmark of the collection is an ombre caftan and floor-length two-tone cashmere duster to be worn over a variety of looks, including denim, which Downing indicated is coming to the line produced by the JS Group.
Another play on the past but elevated for today’s customer is a cotton men’s shirting style caftan dress. Other caftan styles are modernized to appeal to the body-con generation by applying shape-defining seams. A signature rounding thigh split also appeals to this group and facilitates walking. Another Downing touch is a knot detail on shoulder and neck straps and the light-as-air chiffon cargo trench-style dusters worn over the gowns, which speaks to the new mood.
“There are women who know and love Halston. Designing it allows me to introduce the collection to a generation that never wore the clothes. This has more drama and bravado in the clothes than before.”
Generally, retail prices for the collection are about $345 to $1,095, but can go to $1,600 and more, according to Downing.
The collection is sold in the dress and eveningwear departments at stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and Downing’s Alma Mater, Neiman Marcus. Independent luxury retailers in New York, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, and Sun Valley have also bought the collection for their stores. The brand plans to attend Paris market weeks to service and build its international distribution in Europe and the Middle East, ideally doubling global distribution next year.
While the archives might not be helping to construct the collection line for line, Downing has plans for them.
“We own 1,200 archives pieces in an Amsterdam, NY warehouse upstate. The first thing I did was bring them back into the city,” he explained, adding, “The archives are being cleaned and repaired. We are a museum to be worn for special celebrity dressing that will be opened to celebrity stylists.”
He points to Zendaya as a dream Halstonette circa 2023. “She is on top of the list for the red carpet. But I would also love to see opera singers of any age, someone in hip hop, and women who love clothes that make them feel great,” he surmised.
Trying to revive the brand doesn’t faze Downing, nor does the name’s legacy.
“I’m not intimidated by who he was or who he would have been. Those who succeed know their customers and the best surround themselves with whom they dress. We are taking back a bit of what is Halston and weaving a freshness into it, designing clothes for today, not yesterday.”
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