How much appeal can a label still enjoy, thirty years on from its heyday? Evidently a lot if the team responsible for its resurrection include the Hollywood powerhouse producer, Harvey Weinstein, the Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon and the L.A stylist, Rachel Zoe.
But even considering their A-list gloss and financial acumen it still requires a leap of faith to reinvent a brand that has already been relaunched five times.
The label in question (in case you’ve been living under a rock and escaped the press-hoopla surrounding the most eagerly anticipated collection this week) is none other than Halston, the brand synonymous with Seventies American sophistication and worn by a party faithful comprising Bianca Jagger, Angelica Houston and Liza Minelli who were regulars at the legendary Studio 54.
Halston or Roy Halston Frowick’s original success lay in the way in which his clothes defined an era; these were dresses not only with an unmistakable aesthetic but also a sensual, simple elegance borrowed from the fluidity of Greek goddess draping, free from unnecessary seaming and far removed from the stiff, overly fussy clothes of the previous decades. More to the point his designs were also sexy, employing tactile fabrics such as silk jersey and cashmere.
There’s nothing better that the fashion industry loves to do than revive an iconic brand, but it’s often done with varying degrees of success. In fact the day before, Herve Leger was brought back from its Nineties tombstone to mixed reviews. More often than not there is a very fine line between retaining the signature of a fashion house while ensuring it resonates with a contemporary audience.
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Those who came to the Gagosian gallery in Chelsea where the show was held, looking for disco sparks and a ton of Lurex would have been disappointed. Certainly there was a lot less va-va voom, especially considering that the newly appointed creative director, Marco Zanini, hails from Versace where he spent the past eight years as Donatella Versace’s right-hand man.
This was probably a good thing. While the burnt orange shiny skirt suit or the rope-style belt cinching a lemon top in wool jersey paid due to the brand’s seventies vibe, the rest of the collection, comprising two thirds daywear, was ultra sleek with very minimal lines (or almost lack of them) and felt much more contemporary.
Silk jersey maxi-gowns in moody tones of heather, Halston grey and a duck-egg blue appeared to fall off the shoulders into nothingness. The new erogenous zones - the back and shoulders were elegantly draped with wispy bits of silk or cashmere which - while demure and elegant - were also very sexy; a stealth wealth for today without the clunky references of the past.
In a clever and innovating marketing strategy, two of the outfits - a teal jersey shirt dress or a grey drape one - from Monday’s catwalk show are now available to buy from www.net-a-porter.com if you have the required £800 that the dresses start from. (Evening wear will retail from £2,000). That’s a full six months ahead of the collection’s delivery date, enabling the buyer to enjoy the novelty factor that a glut of high-street ripoffs in the next few months could potentially ruin.
Later that evening was another of the week’s highlights: the collection from Proenza Schouler, the design team who produce clothes that manage to straddle A-list cool and uptown New York. Jewel coloured (emerald, ruby, sapphire) dresses in felt-like wool with gently curving, stiff folds around the neck and shoulders were winners as were the charcoal or camel felt jackets with their nonchalantly slouchy lapels and side panels made once again from layered over fabrics.
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Eveningwear was equally knockout with contrasting panels of navy sequins and black chiffon. One bit of advice: you’d better get saving.