Halston's (Roy Halston Frowick, 1932-1990) first fame was the simple and much-imitated pill-box hat Jacqueline Kennedy wore at the 1961 Presidential Inauguration. His success continued in the 1970s. Within the maelstrom of Paris fashions, youthquake, minis, and maxis, Halston reasserted the unadorned cut and practicality of American sportswear: easy, simple, and eternal. In 1972, his plain Ultrasuede shirtwaist sold 60,000 copies. Halston's flowing movement and versatile layers allowed women of all sizes and shapes to find him their perfect designer and Halston came to claim that he would design for every woman in America, to say nothing of custom-order clients Liza Minnelli, Martha Graham, and Elizabeth Taylor. In 1983, he initiated Halston III for J. C. Penney and was dropped from stores who would not permit him to design for their elite clientele and for everyone. Brilliant and charismatic, Halston could make and market anything, except genuine democracy in American fashion.

Further Reading:

Gaines, Steven. Simply Halston: The Untold Story. New York, Putnam, 1991.

Minnelli, Liza, and Polly Mellen, "Halston, 1932-1990." Vogue. July 1990.