The film follows the rise and fall of the influential fashion designer who dressed Elizabeth Taylor and Bianca Jagger.
A simple guy from Iowa, through his ambition and talent Roy Halston became one the most acclaimed designers for celebrities of the 1970s. He was the first to invite celebrities as models, turn fashion shows into huge entertaining events, and start collaborating with mass market brands. And if before him American fashion existed in a world of its own, with his emergence it came under international spotlight. He had the best tables at Studio 54, the handsomest people around him, gourmet foods delivered on a private jet, the most coveted perfumes, huge contracts and unlimited budgets that he knew only too well how to spend. But when he rose too high, Halston plummeted down and lost everything including the right to use his own name.
Using previously unseen archival footage, as well as interviews with people who were once close to the designer, including Liza Minnelli, Marisa Berenson, and Elsa Peretti, Frédéric Tcheng has produced an emotional documentary that tries to locate the point of no return where Halston’s demise began—as still happens to some of the most talented designers today.
Halston
Director: Frédéric Tcheng
USA, 2019. 120 min. 16+