I got my info wrong-Halston designed for JC Penny.
Fashion
The designers, the models, the shows and of course, the clothesTHis really brings back what Halston did for K-Mart years ago but he was so ahead of his time that he got outcast by the high fashion indusrty and he also lost control of his own brand after it's sold to a giant corperation. Every business move he did turned out to be so ahead of the pack, ahead of his time, now fashion houses are being purchased by big money companies, Louie Vitton, Dior, just to name a few, and everyone is happy. But back then Halston 's game plan turned into a designer's nightmare. All the current fashion business trends and buy outs make Halston story much, much more poignant. The fashion designers now really benefitted a great deal from his mistakes.
If we are to believe fashion history.....my perception is that Halston made the right move at the wrong time...he was in fact part of the Jet Set...when the Jet Set ruled Fashion Planet...and it was again the magic of belonging to the most exclusive crowd on earth at the time that made him a coveted and admired designer.....and making such a move (JC Penny) seemed then very ' vulgar' to the in-crowd.....But I'm not so sure he was as good as today's designers....the aesthetics are very different now, in fact more demanding and full of 'intellectual' concepts where technique and intricate constructions are a must to get the recognition that you know and understand the craft inside out..
.......He is mostly remembered in fashion articles for that famous and super-minimalist fashion item that he managed to make universally popular and for ever famous...the Halter Dress...good enough then.....
In reply to Galileo's Universe:
You are right about Halston made the right move at the wrong time, and it's too late to make a come back then he got sick. Halston's craft and concept and construction were superb though-he used the least seams to contruct, took away anything unnecessary, they are timeless, even now. He was very practical, Liza Minelli said that when she had no money and had to travel to perform, Halston asked to see her suitcase, a modest one in size and everything, then he designed a wardrobe just enough to fit every piece nicely in the suitcase, and they didn't wrinkle, they coordinated easily from day to evening to performing-it was perfect.
I really love Halston's story.
Another one when he took his line to show in Beijing for the first time, the Chinese at the show(it was a question and answer session, and the audience was too shy, so Halston suggested to roll out his rack of clothes and let them go up close to see)were so inspired and marvel at the look, the fabric, the technique of everything. Of course it was the 70's and there was no fashion in China, so naturally they would have been knocked out, but he was great in letting them touch the clothes and then the whole audience just chatting over the cuts and techniques and the feel of fabrics-all about the construction.
I think despite all the glamour stories, Halston was a true craftman and he had his brand of asthetics like every designer does, he really only did his thing his clothes didn't look like anybody else and other designers couldn't try to look like his because his clothes might look simple but they were no easy to make.
.... one must never forget that American fashion has always been about ' practicality '...no nonsense...the appreciation is ruthless... no time to experiment... and Halston was never really experimenting to develope new ideas ...he was just tapping into what people wanted and he understood that ... that is just cheer sound business savviness and a very important one in the industry... and arguably he’s the best example of his time in the USA ...but in Europe fashion is more intricate....aesthetically and conceptually..... not always easily understood in America....which by the way brings me to what I have always believed to be how the fashion mechanics work.....you have the first tier in which you find the true revolutionary fashion creators ...the second tier the followers and translators of the ideas...and the third tier.... the industry’s stylists and moderators to adapt the ideas for the mass market ....
In reply to Galileo's Universe:
Practicality has to be part of the design element, one has to be able to live in the clothes, not to say experiment isn't as important, I think they are all important, if one can't live and move in the garment, the garment has no real purpose in a woman's life-everyday women have to work, step out of cabs, get in and out of tubes, take care of babies, lots of walking and running. Coco Chanel was another extremely practical yet revolutionary woman in fashion, she brought movement into clothing, women could do things in them, and looked great, younger, of course Chanel was among some of the giants in fashion during the same period but she became the most well-known. Ideas came from experiments and it has to evolve, has to relate to the lifestyle of modern women, otherwise it would never be welcomed by women. YSL by the last 2 decades of his career he ended up perfecting the same silhoettes, the same smoking jacket, the porportions. People might criticized him for not presenting something new but since he left no designer has really came up with the smoking jacket as smart and timless in cut, tailoring, and porportion and as perfectly seductive and alluring as YSL's "smoking". Halston was experimenting with the cuts and the use of new fabrics, kept perfecting the bias cut with the least seams and streamlining the silhoette. I am afraid we don't really agree on the accomplishments of Halston. It's interesting our difference viewpoints but I am sure we both agree fashion is about clothes and taste and asthetics that relate to people of the time, if a design can't relate, people wouldn't wear it, it then is just a costume. Runway shows is the time when designers can push the boundaries of experimentations, but the designers still have to filter down the pieces when it comes to moving the garments into department stores and boutiques around the world. Some of the designs on the runways look really spectacular but they never made it into the store, of course some were made just for the fashion shows, and the techniques would then filter down into mass market too.
In reply to Galileo's Universe:
I find women fashion designers have really practical points of view in terms of having a woman's lifestyle in mind-Jill Sanders, Mary Quant, Stella McCartney, Chanel, Donna Karan, Donatella Versace, Prada, they always think about how a woman could live in the clothes, what she needs to accomplish in the clothes, they are also business savy. Chanel said once that fashion is not art. Fashion is a multibillion dollars business, let's not kid ourselves. The men designers who are really successful also think about woman's lifestyle too-Armani, Bill Blass, Valentino, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, and Halston, Calvin Klein, etc. European aesthetic and America aesthetic are different, but women in the world are all leading similar lifestyles-working in offices, raising families, living in big cities. The clothes have to be easy to take care of, unless we are talking about women of the upper economic class where they have help. These are all the things fashion designers take into consideration when he/she designs-how to create new things and improve a woman's life. I guess I am speaking with a sportswear mentality, but fashion is about women-to me, it's more than just experimenting. There is a book by Grace Mirabella on her years as editor of america Vogue, "In and Out of Vogue", it's great read.
...and yet Coco Chanel made her mark by experimenting first and transforming fashion second...in her time in history......and her ideas then were embraced by women who wanted to move forward.....
Yes we definitely disagreed.... to me there are plenty of stylist designers around to make life 'comfortable'.....but those who are visionaries and dare to take risks are the ones really orchestrating the movements in aesthetics in the heavens of Fashion Universe.......but don't forget as I mentioned it before ...the mechanics are not as simple as you picture them....you are talking about commerce.....I am talking about ' alchemy'....so to speak..... and commerce only profits from the true 'alchemists ' who lead the way.....that is the core that really keeps fashion moving...the first tier.....
Yes women designers do think about practicality....but to believe that in general it would only do injustice to great alchemists of fashion such as.....Coco Chanel who took very bold steps then to bring women's fashion up to date ....and others like Madeleine Vionnet ...Elsa Schiaparelli.....Vivienne Westwood.......Rei Kawakubo..........to mention few of the great Heroic Women in Fashion who still inspire many today.........
In reply to Galileo's Universe:
Coco Chanel based so much of her signature style on convent uniforms she used to wear. She presented her ideas at the right time, France was ready for her. She was using traditionally men's fabric to make jackets, she added pockets for practical purpose, every element was there to serve a needed function, she took away all the ornaments and really transformed the way women think they should look. There have been outstanding fashion designers who broke the mold that's for sure and we are forever grateful. IT's so fasinating to read Chanel's interviews, she was so no-nonsense, and true to her gut feelings.
In reply to KaWai:
....she was one of a kind indeed and then....the Fashion Gods pronounced " lets there be sensuality and femininity....and then there it was.....Yves Saint Laurent !....
.....but does functionality always bring about the best in design ?.....if functionality had always been the key to new ideas....then fashion wouldn't exist as such...life would be rather dull to be honest.......the fun...beauty...dreams and exquisite design
to inspire others would had been nonexistent .....and to inspire is to keep moving forward and forward.....functionality is just one aspect...but not the one that necessarily guarantees the richness and diversity found by keeping aesthetics first and functionality second in that order..... when functionality interferes to much in the process then fantasy is blown away into thin air........and then life becomes predictable.... humans love excitement and surprise....functionality is an important aspect for commerce and everyday life true...but it should always be like a process of osmosis....give me the designers who can make people dream.....just the way fashion has always done through the ages since the time of the Egyptian civilization when they became the inspiration and envy of world....and life will always be fun !