6/24/2023 0 Comments Liza minelli halston![]() The project started in April 2017 with intensive research. Tcheng noted that people still protect Halston's reputation. ![]() Tcheng said none of the models, or even Liza Minnelli, would have talked to them, if it hadn't been for Frowick talking to them first. After she interviewed with the documentary team, and felt confident the film wouldn't portray her uncle in a biased or negative light, she gave them the contact information to Halston's inner circle. Tcheng reported that the archival footage used in the film was courtesy of Lesley Frowick, who had 215 copies of his private recordings that were presumed to be lost. It resonated with Tcheng because of his own experiences with corporations. Tcheng accepted the offer to become director of the film after researching how Halston was expelled from his own business in 1983. Tcheng conducted additional research and became interested in the designers life. He did not know that much about Halston and thought of him as an exuberant Studio 54 partygoer. At first glance, he politely declined, not wanting to do another fashion documentary. Ballester told Tcheng that Lesley Frowick, Halston's niece, was going to serve as an executive producer for the documentary. In an interview given to The Creative Independent in 2019, Tcheng said he became interested in the project when he was approached by the producer, Roland Ballester, to become the director. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with HIV and died in 1990. Within a year, Halston was ousted from his company. The film’s third act chronicles how Halston - notorious for his lavish lifestyle - was suddenly put under the supervision of executive Carl Epstein whose mission was to cut costs and manage Halston. The debacle was compounded by a simultaneous corporate take-over, in which Norton Simon was gobbled by Esmark and then Beatrice - a meatpacker from Chicago. The move, the first such collaboration between a high fashion house and a mass retailer, drew ire in the fashion world, causing Bergorf Goodman to drop Halston from its store. In the early 80s, in an attempt to “dress America,” Halston announced a partnership with JCPenney. As Halston‘s behavior grew more erratic, he became more and more isolated in his Olympic Tower offices. In the late 70s, he became a regular at Studio 54 and drugs took a toll on his output. His empire grew to include dozens of licenses. Halston himself became a household name - pioneering the idea of fashion as media and of the designer as a star. ![]() It also allowed him to design his first fragrance, which became a runaway hit. conglomerate solidified Halston’s place as America’s premier designer. A 1973 financial deal with the Norton Simon Inc. Halston opened his own fashion house in 1968, and quickly gained popularity for his free-flowing clothes that appealed to a liberated female clientele. ![]() One of his most notable designs during that period was First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's iconic pillbox hat for her husband's presidential inauguration in 1961. Framed by the fictional storyline of a researcher digging through archives to understand Halston’s downfall, the film begins with his early days working at Bergdorf Goodman as a milliner for society ladies. The film tells the story of Roy Halston Frowick, better known as Halston, and the fashion empire he built in the 70s and lost in the 80s. It was selected as the spotlight documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, and had a limited theatrical release in May 2019, before its international release in June. The film premiered to generally positive reviews at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019. Appearing in archival footage are Halston, Jacqueline Kennedy, Brooke Shields, Andy Warhol and members of his family. The film features commentary by Liza Minnelli, Marisa Berenson, Joel Schumacher, Naeem Khan, Pat Cleveland, Karen Bjornson and other former models known as The Halstonettes. The film tells the story of the rise and fall of Roy Halston Frowick, one of America’s most prominent fashion designers. Halston is a 2019 American biographical documentary film written and directed by Frédéric Tcheng and produced by CNN Films and Amazon Originals.
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