Halston (film)

Halston is a 2019 American biographical documentary film written and directed by Frédéric Tcheng. The film tells the extraordinary story of the life and death of the American fashion designer, Roy Halston Frowick. 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. Appearing in archival footage are Halston, Jacqueline Kennedy, Brooke Shields, Andy Warhol and members of his family. The film premiered to generally positive reviews at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019. It went on to screen as the spotlight documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, and had a limited theatrical release in May 2019, before it's international release in June.
Synopsis.
The film tells the remarkable story of the man, the brand, and the legendary downfall of the designer. It is presented in a narrative recreation, beginning with his early days as the go to milliner for the rich and famous. One of his most notable designs during that period was First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's iconic pillbox hat, that she wore to her husband's presidential inauguration in 1961. He eventually transitioned to women's wear, and in 1968, he opened his Madison Avenue boutique. By 1973, his career had taken off and his clothing and home goods were just about featured everywhere, until it all comes to a screeching halt, as those who are offended by his mass market approach, abandon him. The documentary also digs into Halston's past, and gives insight into his models, clients and lovers. Members of his biological family are shown in archival footage provided by his niece. The film also highlights Halston's battle with and eventual death from AIDS in 1990.
Production notes.
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, in regards for a director. Ballester told Tcheng he had connections with the Halston family, Lesley Frowick, Halston's niece, who was going to serve as an executive producer for the documentary. At first glance, he politely declined, not wanting to do another fashion documentary. He didn't know that much about the designer, and thought of him as the exuberant Studio 54 partygoer. After discovering that part of his life was "just the tip of the iceberg", and he found out more about the "rest of the iceberg", he was hooked. Tcheng said the business story of how Halston was expelled from his own business in 1983, is what attracted him to the project. It resonated with him personally because of his own experiences with corporations. He said he felt "devastated" when he learned that part of the story, and that's when he made the decision to take on the directing job.
Tcheng reported that the archival footage used in the film was courtesy of Frowick, who had 215 copies of his private recordings, that were presumed to be lost. 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 access to Halston's inner circle, a very tight knit group. 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. He also noted that to this day people still shield him. The project started in April 2017 with intensive research being the first step. Tcheng said they read everything they could find, and then created a catalogue of Halston's life and significant life events. He rated the events on a scale of most important to least important, and mapped his life out on a big board. He had another board where people were listed he wanted to interview, who would hopefully give him access to some of those life events.
Since Halston really never gave any comprehensive interviews, Tcheng said it was difficult to find out about his past. The director revealed that when he first started delving into his past, he had doubts about who Halston really was; there was so much mystery surrounding everything. But after doing the research, he said "it was undeniable to me that Halston was a force for good". He also commented that there was a lot of gossip surrounding the man and it was laborious trying to determine what was factual, and what wasn't. In the end, the numerous interviews, combing through the archival footage, and the investigations digging into various aspects of his life and his former company took a long time, which resulted in a lot of film footage to process; editing the film lasted for almost a year, which Tcheng was part of.
Release.
The film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019, and went on to screen as the spotlight documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film then had a limited theatrical release on May 24, 2019, and an international release June 7, 2019. The film suffered at the box office, garnering $11,643 for the opening weekend. Total domestic box office sales were $151,991, while international sales were a disappointing $36,760, which resulted in a worldwide total of $188,751. It came out on DVD on August 6, 2019, and was also released to Amazon Prime Video in 2019.
Critical reception.
"Vogue" said Tcheng "refreshingly avoided" the sensationalism of Halston's reputation for "tantrums and cocaine-fueled excesses", but he also didn't "paint Halston as an angel". They also noted that even though Tcheng admits he is "pro-Halston", the film is fairly balanced, with both sides having their say. "Rolling Stone" said in their review that Tcheng makes a "major misstep, in structuring his doc as a film noir". But if you ignore the film's framing device, "Halston emerges as a fascinating study of a fashion artist who allowed women to live an idealized vision of themselves". They concluded that the film captures "the exhilarating thrum...of Halston's ability to create clothes that defined an era and to do it with the kind of startling originality that leaves a lasting impact". The "Los Angeles Times" said the film places the designer "at the top of fashion’s most influential artists, but it avoids hagiography, showing his ego and addiction". They said the documentary only skims the surface of his life, "but it looks great doing it".
"The Guardian" also complained about the structure of the documentary, saying "this profile has a pretentious – and pointless – framing device in which fashion writer Tavi Gevinson plays a fictional archivist who turns detective to investigate his life". Jeremy Blacklow of GLAAD said "Tcheng expertly weaves rare archival footage and intimate interviews with Halston’s family, friends, and collaborators...and what results is a behind-the-headlines look into the thrilling struggle between Halston's artistic legacy and the pressures of big business". Tomris Laffly of "RogerEbert.com" was pleased with the framing device of the film, calling it "compelling", and said the film is "breathtaking for fashion enthusiasts, and anyone dwelling in the tricky intersection of art, history and commerce".
"Variety" wrote in their review the film is "thrilling stuff for fashion nerds, as well as a poignant character study of a misfit ultimately undone by an excessive hunger to prove himself". American review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has the film rated with a score of 77%, which makes it certified fresh. The critics consensus reads, "It may not illuminate much of its subject's inner life, but Halston should still prove a comfortable fit for viewers in search of an entertaining fashion documentary".