1 00:00:01,085 --> 00:00:07,466 ((480p & 720p Movie Download | Mkvking.com)) 2 00:00:12,430 --> 00:00:14,974 (dog barking) 3 00:00:19,937 --> 00:00:22,606 (crowd cheering) 4 00:00:25,943 --> 00:00:31,115 (bell ringing) 5 00:00:39,707 --> 00:00:42,918 (intriguing music) 6 00:00:49,759 --> 00:00:52,511 - It was morning again in America. 7 00:00:52,678 --> 00:00:56,140 Millions of men and women were going to work. 8 00:00:58,559 --> 00:01:03,397 And high up above the streets, in his Olympic Tower, 9 00:01:03,564 --> 00:01:06,442 one of America's most celebrated self-made men 10 00:01:06,609 --> 00:01:08,778 - The most successful single individual 11 00:01:08,944 --> 00:01:10,946 in the history of American fashion. 12 00:01:11,113 --> 00:01:12,531 Ladies and gentlemen, Halston. 13 00:01:12,698 --> 00:01:14,325 (audio screeching) 14 00:01:14,492 --> 00:01:16,911 - was nowhere in sight. 15 00:01:17,077 --> 00:01:19,663 (dramatic music) 16 00:01:22,082 --> 00:01:23,751 - The question that all of New York 17 00:01:23,918 --> 00:01:26,128 was asking last night was, whatever happened to Halston? 18 00:01:26,295 --> 00:01:28,881 (static hissing) 19 00:01:32,301 --> 00:01:34,637 - It's a story of high fashion and high finance, 20 00:01:34,804 --> 00:01:37,723 as one of America's big names in fashion. 21 00:01:37,890 --> 00:01:42,561 (audio screeching) (audio test beeping) 22 00:01:44,230 --> 00:01:48,150 - It was business as usual, you could say. 23 00:01:48,317 --> 00:01:50,820 They bought his name. 24 00:01:50,986 --> 00:01:54,865 Sold off his life's work for pennies on the dollar. 25 00:01:56,534 --> 00:01:58,452 And when that wasn't enough, 26 00:01:58,619 --> 00:02:01,997 well, they forced him out of his own office. 27 00:02:02,164 --> 00:02:06,126 (audio test beeping) (audio screeching) 28 00:02:06,293 --> 00:02:08,671 Some will say he had it coming. 29 00:02:09,672 --> 00:02:12,716 (audience applauding) 30 00:02:14,301 --> 00:02:17,221 But what he didn't see coming were the tapes. 31 00:02:17,388 --> 00:02:23,894 All 215 of them, erased, as per the corporation's order. 32 00:02:26,188 --> 00:02:28,941 (audio screeching) 33 00:02:32,194 --> 00:02:32,945 - Liza Minnelli in The Act. 34 00:02:33,112 --> 00:02:34,488 (audience cheering) 35 00:02:34,655 --> 00:02:37,449 - Sportswear, knits, broadcloth, menswear. 36 00:02:37,616 --> 00:02:39,159 (audio screeching) 37 00:02:39,326 --> 00:02:41,036 This is Andy Warhol's portrait of me, which was-- 38 00:02:41,203 --> 00:02:44,456 - You see, pictures meant everything to Halston. 39 00:02:44,623 --> 00:02:47,209 - And texture demands texture. 40 00:02:47,376 --> 00:02:49,128 - "Life is like a picture," he used to say. 41 00:02:49,295 --> 00:02:51,005 - Who's that lucky guy? 42 00:02:52,464 --> 00:02:56,176 - Well, he got his perfect picture. 43 00:02:56,343 --> 00:02:59,471 Only the price turned out to be a little high. 44 00:02:59,638 --> 00:03:02,808 (static hissing) 45 00:03:17,281 --> 00:03:22,077 ♪ Fame and fortune ♪ 46 00:03:25,497 --> 00:03:30,294 ♪ How empty they can be ♪ 47 00:03:32,755 --> 00:03:37,509 ♪ But when I hold you in my arms ♪ 48 00:03:39,386 --> 00:03:43,390 ♪ That's heaven to me ♪ 49 00:03:43,557 --> 00:03:50,022 ♪ Who cares for fame and fortune ♪ 50 00:03:52,942 --> 00:03:57,696 ♪ They're only passing things ♪ 51 00:04:00,741 --> 00:04:05,496 ♪ But the touch of your lips on mine ♪ 52 00:04:06,872 --> 00:04:11,669 ♪ Makes me feel like a king ♪ 53 00:04:12,086 --> 00:04:14,922 ♪ Your kind of love ♪ 54 00:04:17,967 --> 00:04:22,805 ♪ Is a treasure I hold ♪ 55 00:04:25,057 --> 00:04:29,895 ♪ It's so much greater ♪ 56 00:04:31,730 --> 00:04:34,692 ♪ Than silver or gold ♪ 57 00:04:39,321 --> 00:04:43,367 - It all started in September of 1983, 58 00:04:43,534 --> 00:04:47,371 when Carl Epstein joined Halston Enterprises. 59 00:04:49,164 --> 00:04:51,166 He was Halston's new corporate manager, 60 00:04:51,333 --> 00:04:53,043 and he would be his last. 61 00:04:53,210 --> 00:04:55,254 (jazz noir music) 62 00:04:55,421 --> 00:04:58,757 Carl wanted to learn everything about Halston, 63 00:04:58,924 --> 00:05:00,926 so I brought him the tapes. 64 00:05:02,177 --> 00:05:03,762 Who am I? 65 00:05:03,929 --> 00:05:06,473 Just someone working in the archives. 66 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,185 Nobody important for our story, really. 67 00:05:10,352 --> 00:05:11,895 Our story is Halston. 68 00:05:14,314 --> 00:05:18,902 Behind the images flickering on the screen, who was Halston? 69 00:05:21,238 --> 00:05:23,741 - I'd like to go back in time a little bit, 70 00:05:23,907 --> 00:05:25,451 to just how you started. 71 00:05:25,617 --> 00:05:28,662 I know that you started with hats and worked your way. 72 00:05:28,829 --> 00:05:30,998 - Oh, I-- - Were we gonna move this? 73 00:05:31,165 --> 00:05:32,583 - That's all right. 74 00:05:32,750 --> 00:05:33,417 - Please let me know these things. 75 00:05:37,463 --> 00:05:38,672 - Are we rolling? 76 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:40,049 - Am I-- - I was straightening the tie. 77 00:05:40,215 --> 00:05:41,592 - Okay. 78 00:05:41,759 --> 00:05:43,135 I don't mind it being a little disheveled. 79 00:05:43,302 --> 00:05:46,263 - No, no, it's just-- - Oh, okay, thanks. 80 00:05:46,430 --> 00:05:49,767 Halston was the custom milliner at Bergdorf. 81 00:05:50,934 --> 00:05:53,687 And we lived around the corner from each other. 82 00:05:53,854 --> 00:05:56,356 So he and I would walk to work every day. 83 00:05:56,523 --> 00:05:58,400 We'd be talking, gossiping, having fun. 84 00:05:58,567 --> 00:06:00,611 He was so much fun. 85 00:06:00,778 --> 00:06:02,821 And then the minute we would arrive to the building, 86 00:06:02,988 --> 00:06:05,199 and you'd have to go through the revolving door, 87 00:06:05,365 --> 00:06:08,494 suddenly Halston had arrived at Bergdorf. 88 00:06:09,620 --> 00:06:10,913 And the first time, it quite shocked me. 89 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:12,998 And then, of course, I understood. 90 00:06:13,165 --> 00:06:15,751 He now has put on his Halston mask. 91 00:06:15,918 --> 00:06:19,129 (elegant big band music) 92 00:06:19,296 --> 00:06:20,672 And the voice would change. 93 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:22,382 Good morning, ladies. 94 00:06:24,093 --> 00:06:25,594 He was dealing with the creme de la creme 95 00:06:25,761 --> 00:06:27,346 of women in the world. 96 00:06:29,223 --> 00:06:30,516 - Were you the person 97 00:06:30,682 --> 00:06:32,101 who put the pillbox on Jackie Kennedy? 98 00:06:32,267 --> 00:06:35,395 - Yes, I was. (reporter chuckles) 99 00:06:35,562 --> 00:06:37,314 - That hat was genius. 100 00:06:37,481 --> 00:06:38,690 If you look at the Inauguration, 101 00:06:38,857 --> 00:06:41,485 most of those ladies wore a mink coat. 102 00:06:41,652 --> 00:06:46,115 Jackie was in a cloth coat and a cloth hat. 103 00:06:46,281 --> 00:06:49,076 - I'll never forget the impact that hat had. 104 00:06:49,243 --> 00:06:51,411 Even out in Montana, where I was sitting at the time. 105 00:06:51,578 --> 00:06:52,621 - It was a very funny story. 106 00:06:52,788 --> 00:06:54,790 Because it was a rather windy day, 107 00:06:54,957 --> 00:06:56,458 and she put her hand on the hat, 108 00:06:56,625 --> 00:06:58,627 and it ended up to have a dent in it. 109 00:06:58,794 --> 00:07:00,420 And so when, during all the ceremonies, 110 00:07:00,587 --> 00:07:02,172 it had a dent in the hat. 111 00:07:02,339 --> 00:07:04,508 And everybody who copied it put a dent in it, 112 00:07:04,675 --> 00:07:07,386 which was so funny. (reporter laughing) 113 00:07:07,553 --> 00:07:09,513 I was quite a young man, 114 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:11,765 but then I became very, very famous quickly on that. 115 00:07:11,932 --> 00:07:13,308 It was the first time in the history of Bergdorf 116 00:07:13,475 --> 00:07:16,687 that they promoted a designer personality. 117 00:07:18,647 --> 00:07:21,316 (audio screeching) 118 00:07:21,483 --> 00:07:24,903 And I headed a department of 150 milliners 119 00:07:25,070 --> 00:07:26,572 and 12 sales ladies. 120 00:07:27,739 --> 00:07:31,285 - Bergdorf was a very rarefied world. 121 00:07:31,451 --> 00:07:35,330 But he was born in Des Moines, Iowa, as I read, 122 00:07:35,497 --> 00:07:38,625 because he never told me any of this. 123 00:07:38,792 --> 00:07:42,087 Halston was so busy moving forward. 124 00:07:42,254 --> 00:07:45,007 I knew very little about Halston's personal life. 125 00:07:45,174 --> 00:07:49,261 Certainly, I didn't know much about his background. 126 00:07:49,428 --> 00:07:51,930 In November of 1966, 127 00:07:52,097 --> 00:07:55,517 there was Truman Capote's Black and White Ball. 128 00:07:55,684 --> 00:07:57,978 - Everybody wanted to be at that ball, because it was it, 129 00:07:58,145 --> 00:08:02,983 you know, as far as where you should go, you know? 130 00:08:03,150 --> 00:08:06,904 - You would measure your social importance by (chuckling) 131 00:08:07,070 --> 00:08:10,115 the invitation, getting one or not getting one. 132 00:08:10,282 --> 00:08:12,159 - Do you know if he was invited to the ball? 133 00:08:12,326 --> 00:08:16,747 - I would have thought so, but now you, I have, I'm, 134 00:08:16,914 --> 00:08:20,167 I have my doubts, I don't know, was he? 135 00:08:20,334 --> 00:08:22,878 - Halston did not have an invite to the ball. 136 00:08:23,045 --> 00:08:25,589 (epic music) 137 00:08:30,469 --> 00:08:32,262 - Are you rolling, Harvey? 138 00:08:32,429 --> 00:08:35,098 We have filmed this black and white ball in color 139 00:08:35,265 --> 00:08:36,683 for your enlightenment. 140 00:08:36,850 --> 00:08:39,770 Good heavens, here comes John Kenneth Galbraith. 141 00:08:39,937 --> 00:08:41,813 The Maharani of Baroda is here. 142 00:08:41,980 --> 00:08:46,568 And the Baroness de Rothchild, and Mrs. Loel Guinness. 143 00:08:46,735 --> 00:08:48,654 We only tell you this because we know that 144 00:08:48,820 --> 00:08:51,323 you were not rich, social, or beautiful enough 145 00:08:51,490 --> 00:08:54,117 to be invited here tonight. 146 00:08:54,284 --> 00:08:56,119 - The irony is 147 00:08:56,286 --> 00:08:59,706 Halston had made more than 100 masks that night. 148 00:08:59,873 --> 00:09:03,627 Kay Graham, who owned The Washington Post. 149 00:09:03,794 --> 00:09:04,795 Candice Bergen. 150 00:09:06,046 --> 00:09:08,382 Of course, D.D. Ryan. 151 00:09:08,548 --> 00:09:12,970 D.D. Ryan was certainly one of the chicest women going. 152 00:09:13,136 --> 00:09:15,514 - That's me, dancing with Truman 153 00:09:16,974 --> 00:09:20,269 in the mask that Halston made for me. 154 00:09:20,435 --> 00:09:24,231 - D.D. Ryan, former editor and fashion legend. 155 00:09:24,398 --> 00:09:27,317 She had fallen on hard times since the '60s, 156 00:09:27,484 --> 00:09:29,319 so Halston gave her a job. 157 00:09:30,696 --> 00:09:32,364 - I've known H from the beginning. 158 00:09:32,531 --> 00:09:34,241 From before the beginning, really. 159 00:09:34,408 --> 00:09:36,493 Back then, he was still a milliner. 160 00:09:36,660 --> 00:09:39,830 Milliners didn't go through the front door. 161 00:09:39,997 --> 00:09:41,540 Different world then. 162 00:09:43,208 --> 00:09:44,334 - I must have said, are you going? 163 00:09:44,501 --> 00:09:46,378 And he said, "Oh, yes." 164 00:09:47,838 --> 00:09:49,464 That's all I can say. 165 00:09:49,631 --> 00:09:52,551 He didn't tell me everything. 166 00:09:52,718 --> 00:09:56,888 He wasn't invited by Truman, but he got himself there. 167 00:09:58,015 --> 00:10:00,559 - Was this Halston? 168 00:10:00,726 --> 00:10:01,560 Or this one? 169 00:10:02,644 --> 00:10:04,521 Was he even at the ball? 170 00:10:08,817 --> 00:10:10,819 He was on everybody's face that night. 171 00:10:10,986 --> 00:10:12,904 And yet, he was invisible. 172 00:10:16,116 --> 00:10:17,534 - He called me one day and said, 173 00:10:17,701 --> 00:10:19,453 "There's something that I need to tell you." 174 00:10:19,619 --> 00:10:23,248 I was in Southampton, I was invited to a very grand dinner. 175 00:10:23,415 --> 00:10:26,335 Our hostess is a client, and she likes me, 176 00:10:26,501 --> 00:10:27,669 and she invited me. 177 00:10:27,836 --> 00:10:29,713 And we sat down. 178 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,591 And two of the husbands never sat down. 179 00:10:32,758 --> 00:10:35,260 They stood behind their chairs, everybody was seated, 180 00:10:35,427 --> 00:10:37,012 and the hostess looked up. 181 00:10:37,179 --> 00:10:40,098 And they said, "If these two faggots are at table, 182 00:10:40,265 --> 00:10:42,893 "we will not be joining you for your dinner." 183 00:10:43,060 --> 00:10:45,937 (gentle piano music) 184 00:10:47,814 --> 00:10:50,901 He said, "Tom, I just need you to understand 185 00:10:51,068 --> 00:10:52,527 "that you and I could not hope 186 00:10:52,694 --> 00:10:56,907 "to be anything more than trained faggot poodles, 187 00:10:57,074 --> 00:11:01,578 "to jump through the hoops of these rich people." 188 00:11:06,625 --> 00:11:08,126 - The mental image most people have 189 00:11:08,293 --> 00:11:11,129 of a male homosexual looks pretty much like this. 190 00:11:11,296 --> 00:11:14,383 A man with effeminate characteristics. 191 00:11:14,549 --> 00:11:16,051 The film you are now watching 192 00:11:16,218 --> 00:11:18,345 is purposely being projected in its negative form 193 00:11:18,512 --> 00:11:21,390 to prevent identification of the people it shows. 194 00:11:21,556 --> 00:11:23,225 The location is a public bathing beach 195 00:11:23,392 --> 00:11:25,644 at 21st Street on Miami Beach. 196 00:11:25,811 --> 00:11:28,105 The scenes were photographed with telescopic lenses 197 00:11:28,271 --> 00:11:30,357 from a hidden vantage point. 198 00:11:30,524 --> 00:11:32,150 Despite the negative image, 199 00:11:32,317 --> 00:11:35,779 the actions themselves are easily recognized. 200 00:11:37,114 --> 00:11:39,616 (upbeat music) 201 00:11:42,536 --> 00:11:45,789 - I met Halston at Fire Island. 202 00:11:45,956 --> 00:11:50,627 He was just, you know, just a fabulous human being. 203 00:11:51,628 --> 00:11:53,672 And we became fast friends. 204 00:11:54,923 --> 00:11:59,428 ♪ This precious time just kept me waiting ♪ 205 00:12:00,971 --> 00:12:06,726 - The freedom of our sexuality there, life before AIDS. 206 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:13,650 Halston and I partied a great deal together. 207 00:12:14,776 --> 00:12:17,070 ♪ In a brand new groove ♪ 208 00:12:17,237 --> 00:12:19,322 - We would go dancing in Harlem. (chuckles) 209 00:12:19,489 --> 00:12:23,493 ♪ Don't need your help and your tight and old rules ♪ 210 00:12:23,660 --> 00:12:27,038 - It was always very, very, very eclectic. 211 00:12:27,205 --> 00:12:28,206 - Now! 212 00:12:29,291 --> 00:12:31,084 - But the '60s in general 213 00:12:31,251 --> 00:12:34,504 were a political, moral, social revolution. 214 00:12:37,215 --> 00:12:39,259 - Halston understood that there was 215 00:12:39,426 --> 00:12:42,429 a whole new social order coming in. 216 00:12:42,596 --> 00:12:44,598 The war baby boom came of age. 217 00:12:44,764 --> 00:12:47,434 Drugs, sex, and rock and roll. 218 00:12:47,601 --> 00:12:50,395 Even the French couture changed. 219 00:12:50,562 --> 00:12:52,397 St. Laurent, Givenchy, and Cardin 220 00:12:52,564 --> 00:12:54,900 opened up ready-to-wear boutiques. 221 00:12:55,066 --> 00:12:57,277 And so, Halston saw all of that in Paris, 222 00:12:57,444 --> 00:13:01,198 and there was tension with the Bergdorf people. 223 00:13:17,255 --> 00:13:21,176 - Halston came to see me, and he said, "I have backing. 224 00:13:21,343 --> 00:13:24,137 "Would you clean up your act?" 225 00:13:24,304 --> 00:13:26,097 I was deep into drugs by that time. 226 00:13:26,264 --> 00:13:29,768 But I did stop intravenous drugs 227 00:13:29,935 --> 00:13:32,229 and went to work with him. 228 00:13:32,395 --> 00:13:36,650 ♪ This the house that Jack built, y'all ♪ 229 00:13:36,816 --> 00:13:40,237 ♪ Remember this house ♪ 230 00:13:40,403 --> 00:13:43,240 ♪ This was the land the he worked by hand ♪ 231 00:13:43,406 --> 00:13:45,867 - Well, the salon was on 68th Street and Madison, 232 00:13:46,034 --> 00:13:50,247 in this little, tiny walk-up kind of derelict building. 233 00:13:50,413 --> 00:13:52,958 Compared to Bergdorf Goodman, I thought, like, you know, 234 00:13:53,124 --> 00:13:55,794 wow, this is, like, didn't feel so fancy. 235 00:13:55,961 --> 00:13:59,381 Then you went upstairs, a plain door, and you'd knock, 236 00:13:59,548 --> 00:14:01,007 and then you'd go in, it was just magic. 237 00:14:01,174 --> 00:14:04,886 ♪ What is the use of crying ♪ 238 00:14:05,053 --> 00:14:06,888 - Basically, it was just a floor-through apartment 239 00:14:07,055 --> 00:14:09,349 that they turned into this incredible background, 240 00:14:09,516 --> 00:14:11,768 which is all just sort of magical and exotic, 241 00:14:11,935 --> 00:14:13,520 and you felt like you were in an Indian palace 242 00:14:13,687 --> 00:14:14,771 or you didn't know where you were. 243 00:14:14,938 --> 00:14:16,398 You're on safari. 244 00:14:16,565 --> 00:14:17,899 It was very wild. 245 00:14:18,066 --> 00:14:19,276 And I remember the furniture, 246 00:14:19,442 --> 00:14:20,402 because it was very uncomfortable. 247 00:14:20,569 --> 00:14:21,903 It was horn furniture. 248 00:14:22,070 --> 00:14:23,405 Like you sat in them, 249 00:14:23,572 --> 00:14:24,322 and you just didn't want to sit in them, 250 00:14:24,489 --> 00:14:26,491 but it looked great. 251 00:14:26,658 --> 00:14:28,952 ♪ In the house that Jack built ♪ ♪ The house that Jack built ♪ 252 00:14:29,119 --> 00:14:30,328 ♪ I'm gonn' remember this house ♪ 253 00:14:30,495 --> 00:14:31,955 ♪ The house that Jack built ♪ 254 00:14:32,122 --> 00:14:34,583 - Halston made the atmosphere very democratic. 255 00:14:34,749 --> 00:14:37,085 I mean, I'm a poor kid from Long Island City. 256 00:14:37,252 --> 00:14:41,798 But then there was Marisa Berenson and Berry, 257 00:14:41,965 --> 00:14:43,550 who grew up in Paris. 258 00:14:44,968 --> 00:14:46,761 - It was a mix of social circles. 259 00:14:46,928 --> 00:14:49,389 And that's what was so great about that era, 260 00:14:49,556 --> 00:14:52,350 is that it was a big mix of interesting, 261 00:14:52,517 --> 00:14:55,604 fascinating people. 262 00:14:55,770 --> 00:14:56,938 Like Elsa. 263 00:14:57,105 --> 00:14:59,024 - I love to be with homosexuals. 264 00:14:59,190 --> 00:15:02,736 I stay 15 years with homosexuals, and I loved them. 265 00:15:02,902 --> 00:15:05,572 Because I didn't have the lover. 266 00:15:05,739 --> 00:15:07,365 (clapperboard snapping) 267 00:15:07,532 --> 00:15:08,742 - Pat Cleveland was discovered on a subway car. 268 00:15:08,908 --> 00:15:11,036 - I was still in high school. 269 00:15:11,202 --> 00:15:13,371 I went into the room, and he looked at me and he said, 270 00:15:13,538 --> 00:15:17,459 "Okay, you'll be here tomorrow for the show." 271 00:15:17,626 --> 00:15:20,045 - He was totally laser-focused 272 00:15:20,211 --> 00:15:21,755 on this collection 273 00:15:21,921 --> 00:15:26,343 because, in his mind, I'm sure this was make or break. 274 00:15:26,509 --> 00:15:28,053 - All the ladies of society were there. 275 00:15:28,219 --> 00:15:31,014 The Vogue ladies were sitting in the front row. 276 00:15:31,181 --> 00:15:33,850 Oh, my goodness, this is it, we're doing this show. 277 00:15:34,017 --> 00:15:35,769 And he lined us girls up. 278 00:15:35,935 --> 00:15:37,270 We were all perfectly dressed. 279 00:15:37,437 --> 00:15:39,105 And he would go to the first girl, 280 00:15:39,272 --> 00:15:41,316 and he'd whisper something into their ear. 281 00:15:41,483 --> 00:15:44,611 And he'd say, "Now, don't forget, you're the best." 282 00:15:55,997 --> 00:15:59,334 ♪ And what costume shall the poor girl wear ♪ 283 00:15:59,501 --> 00:16:02,045 - His clothes hit me like, this is it. 284 00:16:02,212 --> 00:16:05,632 This is the fashion that I would want to wear. 285 00:16:05,799 --> 00:16:09,302 ♪ To all tomorrow's parties ♪ 286 00:16:09,469 --> 00:16:10,804 - No zippers. 287 00:16:10,970 --> 00:16:13,306 Just get in and out over your head. 288 00:16:13,473 --> 00:16:14,808 ♪ A hand-me-down dress ♪ 289 00:16:14,974 --> 00:16:16,434 - Overnight success. 290 00:16:16,601 --> 00:16:18,561 It was a clean look. 291 00:16:18,728 --> 00:16:23,817 The simplicity was really needed after the '60s. 292 00:16:23,983 --> 00:16:28,071 And it was all-American, from an all-American boy. 293 00:16:31,366 --> 00:16:33,618 (audience applauding) 294 00:16:33,785 --> 00:16:35,078 - Let's meet our first challenger. 295 00:16:35,245 --> 00:16:37,497 So, will you enter and sign in, please? 296 00:16:37,664 --> 00:16:40,458 (playful music) 297 00:16:40,625 --> 00:16:41,960 Mr. X. 298 00:16:42,127 --> 00:16:45,130 (audience applauding) 299 00:16:47,757 --> 00:16:49,467 Panel, this is Mr. X, 300 00:16:49,634 --> 00:16:52,387 and may I tell you that Mr. X is concerned with a product. 301 00:16:52,554 --> 00:16:55,014 And now let's show our audience just who our guest is 302 00:16:55,181 --> 00:16:56,975 and what his product is. 303 00:16:58,226 --> 00:17:01,271 (audience applauding) 304 00:17:03,064 --> 00:17:06,276 - Can I rule out that your name is Valentino? 305 00:17:06,443 --> 00:17:08,194 - You can rule that out. 306 00:17:08,361 --> 00:17:09,988 - All right, no, no, I'm sure if I hear the name, I'll know. 307 00:17:10,155 --> 00:17:11,698 It's because I don't recognize you on site. 308 00:17:11,865 --> 00:17:16,327 But would the clothing be the new sensation hot pants? 309 00:17:16,494 --> 00:17:17,412 - That's it! - Yes. 310 00:17:17,579 --> 00:17:18,371 - Is that right? 311 00:17:18,538 --> 00:17:19,247 (audience applauding) 312 00:17:19,414 --> 00:17:22,792 (mysterious music) 313 00:17:27,797 --> 00:17:30,550 - Felt like the beginning because he was so enthusiastic, 314 00:17:30,717 --> 00:17:34,429 and everybody was so charmed with him, and so young, 315 00:17:34,596 --> 00:17:36,014 and it was enticing. 316 00:17:36,181 --> 00:17:39,058 You just wanted to be in the room with him. 317 00:17:40,143 --> 00:17:41,436 - I was 18. 318 00:17:41,603 --> 00:17:43,021 I was so innocent. 319 00:17:43,188 --> 00:17:44,314 I knew nothing. 320 00:17:46,232 --> 00:17:48,318 I was from the Midwest. 321 00:17:48,485 --> 00:17:50,612 Everyone was unusual for me. 322 00:17:50,779 --> 00:17:51,863 Like Pat Ast. 323 00:17:53,156 --> 00:17:56,659 She was an Andy Warhol superstar with frizzy hair. 324 00:17:56,826 --> 00:17:59,662 ♪ I'm just wild about Andy ♪ 325 00:17:59,829 --> 00:18:02,874 ♪ And Andy's wild about me ♪ 326 00:18:03,041 --> 00:18:07,712 ♪ The heavenly blisses of his kisses ♪ 327 00:18:07,879 --> 00:18:11,591 ♪ They fill me with ecstasy ♪ 328 00:18:11,758 --> 00:18:13,301 - This was definitely the in crowd. 329 00:18:13,468 --> 00:18:15,136 Andy kept saying, "Oh, this is, you know, 330 00:18:15,303 --> 00:18:16,304 "this is so in, Bob. 331 00:18:16,471 --> 00:18:17,680 "This is so in." 332 00:18:19,641 --> 00:18:22,018 He knew Halston from the 1950s, 333 00:18:22,185 --> 00:18:26,481 when Andy was doing ads and windows for Bergdorf's. 334 00:18:26,648 --> 00:18:28,775 He was comfortable in the world of fashion. 335 00:18:28,942 --> 00:18:30,819 ♪ Wild about me ♪ 336 00:18:30,985 --> 00:18:33,446 (vibrant music) 337 00:18:34,656 --> 00:18:35,698 (phone line beeps) 338 00:18:43,081 --> 00:18:44,457 (interviewer laughing) 339 00:18:44,624 --> 00:18:47,043 - Joe was not only the illustrator, 340 00:18:47,210 --> 00:18:48,837 but a close friend. 341 00:18:49,003 --> 00:18:52,799 You know, Halston was very cool, and Joe was very hot. 342 00:18:56,302 --> 00:18:57,762 - He was drawn to people 343 00:18:57,929 --> 00:19:00,557 who just displayed their emotions. 344 00:19:00,723 --> 00:19:04,352 And also, have this tremendous aesthetic side. 345 00:19:08,398 --> 00:19:11,609 - And he believed so much on me, Halston. 346 00:19:11,776 --> 00:19:15,071 - Elsa would be there drawing things all the time. 347 00:19:15,238 --> 00:19:18,491 And Halston said, "You need to be a jewelry designer." 348 00:19:18,658 --> 00:19:21,494 And somehow she made this jewelry for us, which is, 349 00:19:21,661 --> 00:19:24,747 I had two of these, one was stolen. 350 00:19:24,914 --> 00:19:25,832 - Why I did do jewelry? 351 00:19:25,999 --> 00:19:28,459 I just was trapped into it. 352 00:19:28,626 --> 00:19:32,589 I did something for fun, it became a success. 353 00:19:32,755 --> 00:19:34,424 - Really? 354 00:19:35,592 --> 00:19:36,551 - We were hipsters. 355 00:19:36,718 --> 00:19:38,094 We thought we were. 356 00:19:38,261 --> 00:19:41,264 We probably weren't at all, but, you know. 357 00:19:41,431 --> 00:19:44,017 My husband, Bill, was starting to work at Halston's. 358 00:19:44,183 --> 00:19:46,561 They got along really well together. 359 00:19:46,728 --> 00:19:49,022 In the beginning, he couldn't wait to go to work. 360 00:19:49,188 --> 00:19:51,983 And that's a great feeling, isn't it? 361 00:19:53,151 --> 00:19:56,112 - Bill Dugan was the first disciple. 362 00:19:56,279 --> 00:20:00,408 And 12 years later, he was still spreading the gospel. 363 00:20:00,575 --> 00:20:03,536 - If you want to understand Halston's clothes, 364 00:20:03,703 --> 00:20:06,164 you have to understand the lineage first. 365 00:20:06,331 --> 00:20:08,917 You see, when he did his first line, 366 00:20:09,083 --> 00:20:10,418 I think he was the first to be surprised 367 00:20:10,585 --> 00:20:13,379 at how good he really was. 368 00:20:13,546 --> 00:20:17,967 The other who was surprised, of course, was his mentor. 369 00:20:22,889 --> 00:20:25,808 - Oh, I think perhaps Charles James, 370 00:20:25,975 --> 00:20:27,602 who was a friend of mine. 371 00:20:27,769 --> 00:20:29,896 (dramatic music) 372 00:20:30,063 --> 00:20:31,439 (audience applauding) 373 00:20:31,606 --> 00:20:33,274 - Charles James is such an amazing figure. 374 00:20:33,441 --> 00:20:34,692 Difficult, controversial. 375 00:20:34,859 --> 00:20:35,818 But he's one of these people that, 376 00:20:35,985 --> 00:20:37,487 he was so amazingly talented. 377 00:20:37,654 --> 00:20:40,782 ♪ I know what it is to be young ♪ 378 00:20:40,949 --> 00:20:42,325 - Even the Europeans understood 379 00:20:42,492 --> 00:20:45,078 that Charles James was a singular genius. 380 00:20:45,244 --> 00:20:46,913 ♪ You don't know what it is ♪ 381 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:48,831 ♪ To be old ♪ 382 00:20:48,998 --> 00:20:51,334 - Halston had this incredible fascination, 383 00:20:51,501 --> 00:20:54,462 and I would say envy of Charles James. 384 00:20:54,629 --> 00:20:58,383 ♪ You'll be saying the same thing ♪ 385 00:20:58,549 --> 00:21:00,134 - He mimicked Charles. 386 00:21:00,301 --> 00:21:01,594 Charles would say things like, 387 00:21:01,761 --> 00:21:04,263 "You're only as good as who you dress." 388 00:21:04,430 --> 00:21:06,099 And suddenly Halston was saying, 389 00:21:06,265 --> 00:21:09,185 "You're only as good as who you dress." 390 00:21:10,311 --> 00:21:12,271 ♪ I've asked so many questions ♪ 391 00:21:12,438 --> 00:21:14,190 - In the late '60s, 392 00:21:14,357 --> 00:21:17,527 Charles James was really out of his luck, and he owed money. 393 00:21:17,694 --> 00:21:19,612 And he really wasn't designing. 394 00:21:19,779 --> 00:21:21,698 ♪ Find all the answers ♪ 395 00:21:21,864 --> 00:21:23,074 - It's true that you're considering going on welfare, 396 00:21:23,241 --> 00:21:24,575 isn't it? - Yes, it is. 397 00:21:24,742 --> 00:21:26,452 In order to get my doctor's bills paid. 398 00:21:26,619 --> 00:21:27,578 It's just the most shocking-- 399 00:21:27,745 --> 00:21:29,163 - Halston felt for him. 400 00:21:29,330 --> 00:21:31,916 ♪ There'll be days to remember ♪ 401 00:21:32,083 --> 00:21:33,626 - So he hired Charles James 402 00:21:33,793 --> 00:21:36,254 to help him with a collection. 403 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:57,734 (gentle piano music) 404 00:21:57,900 --> 00:22:01,154 - James's working methodology was overworking 405 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:03,614 and overworking the same idea, 406 00:22:03,781 --> 00:22:06,826 and creating things that were so incredibly complicated 407 00:22:06,993 --> 00:22:09,203 that it simply wasn't viable. 408 00:22:13,332 --> 00:22:15,001 - Charles was furious throughout the whole thing 409 00:22:15,168 --> 00:22:16,669 'cause it wasn't right. 410 00:22:16,836 --> 00:22:20,256 Charles wanted control, Halston wanted control. 411 00:22:20,423 --> 00:22:24,343 It was almost like father and rebellious son. 412 00:22:24,510 --> 00:22:25,470 It was a disaster, by the way. 413 00:22:25,636 --> 00:22:27,180 The collection was a disaster. 414 00:22:27,346 --> 00:22:28,681 - The few pieces that I've seen 415 00:22:28,848 --> 00:22:30,933 look a little tortured, frankly. 416 00:22:31,100 --> 00:22:32,727 Very typical of James's work, 417 00:22:32,894 --> 00:22:35,104 where he would take fabric and twist it and torque it. 418 00:22:35,271 --> 00:22:37,690 And in the end result, you had things that looked amazing, 419 00:22:37,857 --> 00:22:40,318 in a way, but somehow unwearable. 420 00:22:42,445 --> 00:22:44,781 - Halston said, "Well, I just want you to know that, 421 00:22:44,947 --> 00:22:47,158 "you know, I'm locking Charles out of the workroom." 422 00:22:52,371 --> 00:22:55,249 - Halston is a middle-of-the-road man, 423 00:22:55,416 --> 00:23:00,630 who would be better as a buyer in a store, or a stylist. 424 00:23:02,006 --> 00:23:07,470 He knows how to select good things to copy. 425 00:23:07,637 --> 00:23:11,808 But his passion has been to put his name on it. 426 00:23:11,974 --> 00:23:18,147 For which action, the word plagiarism is correct. 427 00:23:21,776 --> 00:23:23,444 - Halston didn't copy. 428 00:23:23,611 --> 00:23:26,030 Eventually, I went to work for Halston, 429 00:23:26,197 --> 00:23:32,161 and I saw that Halston took concepts of Charles James 430 00:23:32,328 --> 00:23:33,663 and relaxed them. 431 00:23:36,791 --> 00:23:39,210 His clothes were for a modern time. 432 00:23:39,377 --> 00:23:41,504 For a time where women's lifestyle 433 00:23:41,671 --> 00:23:43,256 had changed completely. 434 00:23:43,422 --> 00:23:44,382 I mean, he understood that. 435 00:23:44,549 --> 00:23:47,176 (ethereal music) 436 00:23:50,805 --> 00:23:52,348 - Elegance and ease. 437 00:23:54,308 --> 00:23:58,896 A sense of owning power, without being masculine. 438 00:24:00,148 --> 00:24:02,984 And honoring the body that you have. 439 00:24:04,819 --> 00:24:08,197 Basically, you were usually naked underneath. 440 00:24:08,364 --> 00:24:11,075 - You were free inside your clothes. 441 00:24:14,745 --> 00:24:17,206 - He took away the cage. 442 00:24:17,373 --> 00:24:18,749 And he made things 443 00:24:18,916 --> 00:24:21,836 as though you didn't really need the structure 444 00:24:22,003 --> 00:24:24,589 as much as you needed the woman. 445 00:24:24,755 --> 00:24:29,177 He really based most of his collection on most of us girls. 446 00:24:29,343 --> 00:24:30,845 - I think maybe we just had a pin there to hold it up, 447 00:24:31,012 --> 00:24:32,013 it might be good, huh? 448 00:24:32,180 --> 00:24:33,514 - Mm-hmm. 449 00:24:33,681 --> 00:24:36,142 - Let's see you turn in it, Chrissy, huh? 450 00:24:36,309 --> 00:24:40,354 - Fabric to Halston was like clay to a sculptor. 451 00:24:40,521 --> 00:24:43,024 He knew how to use it. 452 00:24:43,191 --> 00:24:47,528 And everything was cut on the bias, so it spiraled. 453 00:24:47,695 --> 00:24:49,197 - Basically, bias is cutting fabric 454 00:24:49,363 --> 00:24:52,241 on an oblique, or 45-degree angle. 455 00:24:52,408 --> 00:24:54,577 Fabric is usually cut on the straight grain. 456 00:24:54,744 --> 00:24:55,828 If you've ever cut something on the bias, 457 00:24:55,995 --> 00:24:57,788 it flows over the body. 458 00:24:57,955 --> 00:25:00,458 It opens up, if you will. 459 00:25:00,625 --> 00:25:02,376 - It's very hard to do it. 460 00:25:02,543 --> 00:25:03,794 Nothing is straight. 461 00:25:03,961 --> 00:25:06,839 It's very hard to sew, everything moves. 462 00:25:07,006 --> 00:25:09,842 Especially on chiffon, it's very hard to control. 463 00:25:10,009 --> 00:25:12,678 But he made it so easy. 464 00:25:12,845 --> 00:25:15,348 - He just would throw a piece of fabric on the floor, 465 00:25:15,514 --> 00:25:17,266 and cut through it. 466 00:25:17,433 --> 00:25:21,520 Pick it up, throw it on you, and then, pfft, it was a dress. 467 00:25:22,897 --> 00:25:24,106 - That's genius. 468 00:25:25,441 --> 00:25:26,400 It's a dress. 469 00:25:26,567 --> 00:25:28,736 Just from the way he cut it. 470 00:25:28,903 --> 00:25:30,571 I don't know anybody who could do that. 471 00:25:30,738 --> 00:25:31,948 He's the only one. 472 00:25:55,596 --> 00:25:58,724 - That's probably the largest Halston collection 473 00:25:58,891 --> 00:26:02,019 of all the museums in the States. 474 00:26:02,186 --> 00:26:03,437 When I started working here, 475 00:26:03,604 --> 00:26:05,564 I started really looking at the clothes. 476 00:26:05,731 --> 00:26:09,860 And I'm most fascinated with the single-seam patterns. 477 00:26:11,904 --> 00:26:13,656 Similar to the one that's up there, 478 00:26:13,823 --> 00:26:15,157 which looks like a painting, 479 00:26:15,324 --> 00:26:17,994 is actually the pattern for that dress. 480 00:26:19,078 --> 00:26:20,329 It's really hard to see it, flat. 481 00:26:20,496 --> 00:26:24,125 But, and just spirals. 482 00:26:24,875 --> 00:26:26,210 And this is another one 483 00:26:26,377 --> 00:26:29,880 that is cut from one piece of fabric, folded. 484 00:26:30,047 --> 00:26:34,510 You cut out the neck, and the seam goes from here to here, 485 00:26:34,677 --> 00:26:36,846 down the side, and then across. 486 00:26:37,013 --> 00:26:38,973 It's one piece of fabric. 487 00:26:39,140 --> 00:26:41,017 The pattern looks like a Cuisinart blade. 488 00:26:41,183 --> 00:26:44,520 (ethereal music) 489 00:26:44,687 --> 00:26:47,189 Very much like the art, at the time, like abstract art. 490 00:26:47,356 --> 00:26:51,736 It was reducing it down to its least common denominators. 491 00:26:55,656 --> 00:26:57,366 - I think if fashion history would write it, 492 00:26:57,533 --> 00:26:59,660 I'd like to have a credit point of saying 493 00:26:59,827 --> 00:27:01,954 maybe we cleaned it up a bit, where, you know, 494 00:27:02,121 --> 00:27:04,165 I have a theory that less becomes more, so much. 495 00:27:04,332 --> 00:27:05,041 - Uh-huh. 496 00:27:06,792 --> 00:27:09,086 - I felt more intimidated by Halston 497 00:27:09,253 --> 00:27:12,423 than by whatever man I met in my life. 498 00:27:12,590 --> 00:27:14,008 - Because? 499 00:27:14,175 --> 00:27:16,552 - Because everything he was doing was great. 500 00:27:16,719 --> 00:27:18,387 Every time, every time. 501 00:27:19,764 --> 00:27:21,057 He astonished me. 502 00:27:22,183 --> 00:27:23,768 - How do you feel when you, say, 503 00:27:23,934 --> 00:27:25,519 walk into a restaurant in New York, and a lady comes in 504 00:27:25,686 --> 00:27:28,022 looking smashing in a Halston outfit? 505 00:27:28,189 --> 00:27:30,691 - I'm very proud. 506 00:27:30,858 --> 00:27:34,570 I'm just very proud if somebody looks good in it, you know? 507 00:27:34,737 --> 00:27:35,654 - What if she comes in 508 00:27:35,821 --> 00:27:38,032 and doesn't look good in it? 509 00:27:38,199 --> 00:27:41,410 - Then I'm not so proud. (laughing) 510 00:27:41,577 --> 00:27:42,578 (vibrant music) 511 00:27:42,745 --> 00:27:44,163 - The Halston market 512 00:27:44,330 --> 00:27:45,915 is in the better stores across the country. 513 00:27:46,082 --> 00:27:47,458 In New York, it's Bergdorf Goodman, 514 00:27:47,625 --> 00:27:49,293 where he has a boutique 515 00:27:49,460 --> 00:27:52,046 in the same spot he started selling hats to rich ladies 516 00:27:52,213 --> 00:27:53,839 15 years ago. 517 00:27:54,006 --> 00:27:55,925 This is Halston off the rack. 518 00:27:56,092 --> 00:27:57,510 The favorite item? 519 00:27:57,676 --> 00:28:00,429 An Ultrasuede shirt dress with a $200 price tag 520 00:28:00,596 --> 00:28:03,808 that has broken all previous sales records. 521 00:28:05,226 --> 00:28:06,435 - You're late. 522 00:28:06,602 --> 00:28:07,895 My god, are you ever on time, come on. 523 00:28:08,062 --> 00:28:09,814 - But for real extravagance, 524 00:28:09,980 --> 00:28:12,233 the ladies come to Halston's own showroom on Madison Avenue, 525 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:14,735 where super saleswoman Pat Ast 526 00:28:14,902 --> 00:28:17,655 will give them that special treatment. 527 00:28:17,822 --> 00:28:19,240 - What about Pat Ast? 528 00:28:19,407 --> 00:28:21,367 Some people have suggested that by using her, 529 00:28:21,534 --> 00:28:24,370 you're putting down fashion a bit. 530 00:28:24,537 --> 00:28:26,997 - Well, if you think that Patty is a put-down, 531 00:28:27,164 --> 00:28:28,124 but I don't think so. 532 00:28:28,290 --> 00:28:30,209 I take her very seriously. 533 00:28:30,376 --> 00:28:33,087 And I like to make her glamorous. 534 00:28:33,254 --> 00:28:36,132 - Halston designs things that are made especially for me, 535 00:28:36,298 --> 00:28:39,135 which is the most incredible thing, 'cause looking at me, 536 00:28:39,301 --> 00:28:42,304 you know I'm not the normal size woman. 537 00:28:43,597 --> 00:28:45,516 - I think he appreciated the woman's body. 538 00:28:45,683 --> 00:28:48,978 I think he appreciated all the different types of women. 539 00:28:49,145 --> 00:28:52,064 He loved all of the diversity of his models. 540 00:28:52,231 --> 00:28:53,899 - If you take this down, Iman. - Yeah. 541 00:28:54,066 --> 00:28:56,610 - And you turn around, that way so you see a decollete. 542 00:28:56,777 --> 00:28:58,904 This is Iman's first show. 543 00:28:59,071 --> 00:29:00,656 She's never been in a fashion show before. 544 00:29:00,823 --> 00:29:03,617 How do you feel about your first fashion show, Iman? 545 00:29:03,784 --> 00:29:05,161 - I'm very nervous. 546 00:29:10,207 --> 00:29:12,668 - He always loved different personalities. 547 00:29:12,835 --> 00:29:14,336 And he encouraged that. 548 00:29:14,503 --> 00:29:16,046 - Do you think that models are some of the sexy, 549 00:29:16,213 --> 00:29:17,631 most beautiful girls in the world? 550 00:29:17,798 --> 00:29:19,300 - Sometimes. 551 00:29:19,467 --> 00:29:20,426 - Do you think they should all be in the movies? 552 00:29:20,593 --> 00:29:22,261 - No. 553 00:29:22,428 --> 00:29:25,556 - He also loved the idea of being controversial. 554 00:29:25,723 --> 00:29:27,391 I remember the Coty Award Show, 555 00:29:27,558 --> 00:29:31,770 he decided it was gonna be a happening, so anything goes. 556 00:29:31,937 --> 00:29:32,897 - Tell me something. 557 00:29:33,063 --> 00:29:34,565 - I'm gonna tell you. 558 00:29:34,732 --> 00:29:36,358 I hope that show goes better than the rehearsal. 559 00:29:36,525 --> 00:29:40,446 - All the fashion world is waiting for the Coty Awards. 560 00:29:40,613 --> 00:29:41,906 - The audience in the Coty Awards 561 00:29:42,072 --> 00:29:44,158 tend to be a little more formal. 562 00:29:44,325 --> 00:29:47,203 But Halston wanted to be very irreverent. 563 00:29:47,369 --> 00:29:50,247 - Andy and Halston came up with this idea 564 00:29:50,414 --> 00:29:54,585 that it was like a talent show, Halston's Talent Hour. 565 00:29:56,879 --> 00:30:01,550 ("When the Saints Go Marching In") 566 00:30:01,717 --> 00:30:03,469 I played the clarinet. 567 00:30:03,636 --> 00:30:06,555 He said, "What can you do?" (laughing) 568 00:30:06,722 --> 00:30:08,390 "What else can you do?" 569 00:30:11,852 --> 00:30:13,896 ♪ Oh yeah ♪ 570 00:30:15,397 --> 00:30:18,067 - The audience, they didn't know what to make of it. 571 00:30:18,234 --> 00:30:20,945 (chuckles) 572 00:30:21,111 --> 00:30:23,155 Halston wanted it to be, just throw everything in, 573 00:30:23,322 --> 00:30:24,907 including the kitchen sink. 574 00:30:25,074 --> 00:30:29,245 And by the way, have Pat come out of the birthday cake. 575 00:30:30,746 --> 00:30:33,958 ♪ Ah ah ah ah ah ♪ 576 00:30:34,124 --> 00:30:38,295 ♪ Happy birthday to me ♪ 577 00:30:38,462 --> 00:30:42,758 ♪ Happy birthday to me ♪ 578 00:30:42,925 --> 00:30:46,762 ♪ Happy birthday, happy birthday ♪ 579 00:30:47,888 --> 00:30:51,392 (gentle instrumental music) 580 00:30:55,104 --> 00:30:58,274 - He took a chance, a leap of faith to be something 581 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:02,152 that maybe a lot of people think they can't do. 582 00:31:06,448 --> 00:31:09,493 He would say, "You can have anything you want. 583 00:31:09,660 --> 00:31:12,079 "You're a good person." 584 00:31:12,246 --> 00:31:14,582 You know, that feeling that somebody believes in you. 585 00:31:14,748 --> 00:31:16,208 You know? 586 00:31:16,375 --> 00:31:20,004 And because of that, you know, he made me stronger. 587 00:31:22,673 --> 00:31:25,217 (chuckling) 588 00:31:25,384 --> 00:31:30,472 Waterproof. (chuckling) 589 00:31:35,644 --> 00:31:39,106 I remember one time we went out West to do a show, 590 00:31:39,273 --> 00:31:41,150 and Halston said, "I want you to come with me. 591 00:31:41,317 --> 00:31:43,611 I wanna see something." 592 00:31:43,777 --> 00:31:45,529 He rented a car. 593 00:31:45,696 --> 00:31:49,199 And you never saw him drive 'cause we'd always be in limos. 594 00:31:49,366 --> 00:31:53,245 And we went way out in the middle of nowhere, out there. 595 00:31:53,412 --> 00:31:54,955 Not a lot to look at. (chuckles) 596 00:31:55,122 --> 00:31:56,165 Sky and earth. 597 00:32:00,753 --> 00:32:02,254 And he said, "That's where I grew up. 598 00:32:02,421 --> 00:32:04,256 "This is where I grew up." 599 00:32:04,423 --> 00:32:05,883 And we'd be in the middle of nowhere. 600 00:32:06,050 --> 00:32:09,345 Just, like, farms, with the big rolls of hay. 601 00:32:09,511 --> 00:32:14,350 He said, "I just wanted to come by here." 602 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:22,858 - I only lived in Iowa for about five minutes, you know. 603 00:32:23,025 --> 00:32:25,069 I mean, I moved out of Iowa as a young man. 604 00:32:25,235 --> 00:32:26,737 It was during the Second World War, 605 00:32:26,904 --> 00:32:28,155 and my father was in a business 606 00:32:28,322 --> 00:32:30,282 that took us from one place to another, 607 00:32:30,449 --> 00:32:31,992 so I lived in the Lake of the Ozarks, 608 00:32:32,159 --> 00:32:34,995 and I lived in Kentucky, and I lived in Missouri, 609 00:32:35,162 --> 00:32:37,623 and then we finally settled in Indiana. 610 00:32:37,790 --> 00:32:39,083 So I was all over, you know. 611 00:32:39,249 --> 00:32:42,044 It was sort of an unsettled time. 612 00:32:42,211 --> 00:32:44,380 - When you do go back home-- 613 00:32:44,546 --> 00:32:46,882 - There is no home in Iowa, you see? 614 00:32:47,049 --> 00:32:48,967 What else do you think we should go over? 615 00:32:49,134 --> 00:32:50,761 - Just a little bit of the history. 616 00:32:50,928 --> 00:32:52,638 I think that would be good for us to have and so forth. 617 00:32:52,805 --> 00:32:54,640 - Oh, let's not go into the whole history crap, you know. 618 00:32:54,807 --> 00:32:55,974 What about right now? 619 00:32:56,141 --> 00:32:57,559 - But this is history. 620 00:32:57,726 --> 00:33:00,437 - The past just doesn't interest me so much. 621 00:33:00,604 --> 00:33:04,274 I think you have pretty much, I think you have enough. 622 00:33:04,441 --> 00:33:05,818 - And we need a transcript 623 00:33:05,984 --> 00:33:07,444 as soon as possible. 624 00:33:08,904 --> 00:33:11,782 (jazz noir music) 625 00:33:42,938 --> 00:33:44,565 - His mother would come and visit, 626 00:33:44,732 --> 00:33:47,401 and she always called him Hahl-ston. 627 00:33:48,861 --> 00:33:52,322 And he had changed the pronunciation to Hall-ston, 628 00:33:52,489 --> 00:33:54,366 but she would correct you. 629 00:33:54,533 --> 00:33:58,454 "His name is Hahl-ston, it's a family name." 630 00:33:58,620 --> 00:34:02,249 She also used to say Hahl-ston had disappeared, 631 00:34:03,459 --> 00:34:07,296 but Hall-ston was a force to be reckoned with. 632 00:34:12,384 --> 00:34:16,346 And this is the manager of the boutique. 633 00:34:16,513 --> 00:34:19,892 Ed was just as handsome as Halston. 634 00:34:20,058 --> 00:34:25,063 And had just as much charisma. 635 00:34:30,110 --> 00:34:32,029 - Ed Austin. 636 00:34:32,196 --> 00:34:33,405 (phone line beeps) 637 00:34:33,572 --> 00:34:35,282 - Never mentioned his dad, 638 00:34:35,449 --> 00:34:38,702 but he called his mom every week, every Monday afternoon. 639 00:34:38,869 --> 00:34:40,579 Hallie Mae. 640 00:34:40,746 --> 00:34:43,457 I'm being careful about what I'm saying. 641 00:34:43,624 --> 00:34:45,751 I don't know how much you know about me. 642 00:34:45,918 --> 00:34:48,962 - I didn't know it at the time, but apparently, 643 00:34:49,129 --> 00:34:52,549 Halston and Ed had had a relationship earlier. 644 00:34:52,716 --> 00:34:55,177 (thunder rumbling) 645 00:34:55,344 --> 00:34:56,762 - I was kept hidden. 646 00:34:56,929 --> 00:34:58,889 I still don't know why. 647 00:34:59,056 --> 00:35:01,350 I would go to his house at night. 648 00:35:01,517 --> 00:35:03,018 The doorman would stop me and say, 649 00:35:03,185 --> 00:35:06,522 "The deliveries go in the back," that sort of thing. 650 00:35:08,732 --> 00:35:11,235 We had a wonderful relationship. 651 00:35:11,401 --> 00:35:15,697 He used to call me the crown prince, and he was the king. 652 00:35:15,864 --> 00:35:18,033 - When did it end? 653 00:35:19,827 --> 00:35:22,162 - One Christmas, 654 00:35:22,329 --> 00:35:25,707 Ed had done this absolutely beautiful window. 655 00:35:27,376 --> 00:35:32,422 And that was the day that Victor Hugo took over. 656 00:35:47,104 --> 00:35:48,355 - Victor came down 657 00:35:48,522 --> 00:35:51,066 and started to rearrange Ed's window. 658 00:35:53,610 --> 00:35:57,072 It was very asymmetrical, and very haphazard. 659 00:35:58,991 --> 00:36:01,869 But Halston came and loved the window. 660 00:36:03,412 --> 00:36:08,292 When Ed saw it, he just put on his coat and went home. 661 00:36:08,458 --> 00:36:10,961 It was the changing of the guard. 662 00:36:12,254 --> 00:36:14,464 - Are you looking for his Rosebud? 663 00:36:14,631 --> 00:36:17,009 The one thing that explains his whole life? 664 00:36:17,175 --> 00:36:18,343 You won't find one. 665 00:36:18,510 --> 00:36:20,012 Not with Halston. 666 00:36:20,178 --> 00:36:22,806 What you see is what you get, baby. 667 00:36:25,726 --> 00:36:27,394 - Victor was Venezuelan, 668 00:36:27,561 --> 00:36:31,481 and he was a bad boy who got into a lot of trouble. 669 00:36:33,191 --> 00:36:36,236 - My theory has always been that 670 00:36:36,403 --> 00:36:39,281 Halston came from an alcoholic family. 671 00:36:41,116 --> 00:36:43,911 That his father had a problem. 672 00:36:44,077 --> 00:36:47,873 And that Halston recreated his family life with Victor 673 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:50,375 as the dysfunctional person 674 00:36:50,542 --> 00:36:55,505 who is constantly going to keep everything off balance. 675 00:36:55,672 --> 00:36:59,009 (upbeat music) 676 00:37:24,201 --> 00:37:26,495 - He'd do the pregnancy, Patty Hearst. 677 00:37:26,662 --> 00:37:27,871 I mean, really crazy. 678 00:37:28,038 --> 00:37:31,875 But this was his personality, extreme. 679 00:37:58,986 --> 00:38:00,570 - Roy, I found these pictures of us 680 00:38:00,737 --> 00:38:05,867 in my mom's attic. 681 00:38:10,956 --> 00:38:14,793 Darling H, you love life and I love you. 682 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:18,255 - Ladies and gentlemen, Liza Minnelli. 683 00:38:18,422 --> 00:38:23,051 (epic music) (audience applauding) 684 00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:25,137 - When I met Halston, 685 00:38:25,303 --> 00:38:27,639 I just remember him talking and me listening. 686 00:38:27,806 --> 00:38:29,391 (camera shutter clicks) 687 00:38:29,558 --> 00:38:31,810 He'd say, "I got it, all right," and just put it on you. 688 00:38:31,977 --> 00:38:34,062 And it danced with you, that's it. 689 00:38:34,229 --> 00:38:36,773 His clothes danced with you. 690 00:38:36,940 --> 00:38:38,191 (camera shutter clicks) 691 00:38:38,358 --> 00:38:40,402 We were joined at the hip from then on. 692 00:38:40,569 --> 00:38:41,778 He was like my dad, in a way, 693 00:38:41,945 --> 00:38:44,322 because when I was a little girl, 694 00:38:44,489 --> 00:38:48,744 my father would give me five costumes every year. 695 00:38:48,910 --> 00:38:53,081 And it was a dress from An American In Paris. 696 00:38:53,248 --> 00:38:56,918 And perfectly made, exactly like for the ladies. 697 00:38:58,003 --> 00:39:00,797 And I guess I got into appreciating 698 00:39:01,882 --> 00:39:05,135 how clothes could change the way you felt. 699 00:39:06,887 --> 00:39:08,930 - She dressed only in Halston, ever. 700 00:39:09,097 --> 00:39:10,515 I mean, she still does. 701 00:39:10,682 --> 00:39:11,933 - Yes. (audience applauding) 702 00:39:12,100 --> 00:39:13,310 - Liza Minnelli. 703 00:39:13,477 --> 00:39:15,645 (audience cheering and applauding) 704 00:39:15,812 --> 00:39:18,940 ♪ Say yes ♪ 705 00:39:19,107 --> 00:39:22,611 ♪ Life keeps happening every day ♪ 706 00:39:22,778 --> 00:39:24,654 - And this is Halston, who is, I think, today, 707 00:39:24,821 --> 00:39:26,281 wouldn't you say, the best-known name, 708 00:39:26,448 --> 00:39:27,699 no, you shouldn't say best and worst 709 00:39:27,866 --> 00:39:29,451 'cause then other designers get upset. 710 00:39:29,618 --> 00:39:31,119 You're pretty good, Halston. - Thank you. 711 00:39:31,286 --> 00:39:32,704 (all laughing) 712 00:39:32,871 --> 00:39:34,956 ♪ You'll never win if you never play ♪ 713 00:39:35,123 --> 00:39:38,627 - He would always think, how do I go to that next level? 714 00:39:38,794 --> 00:39:42,005 ♪ There's mink and marigold right outside ♪ 715 00:39:42,172 --> 00:39:43,465 ♪ And long white Cadillacs ♪ 716 00:39:43,632 --> 00:39:45,383 - He was looking for a perfume company. 717 00:39:45,550 --> 00:39:48,845 ♪ Nothing's gained if there's nothing tried ♪ 718 00:39:49,012 --> 00:39:50,180 ♪ Say yes ♪ 719 00:39:50,347 --> 00:39:51,973 - Every single week, 720 00:39:52,140 --> 00:39:54,976 he was having meetings with Revlon's Sol Levine, Coty. 721 00:39:55,143 --> 00:39:57,187 - A Mr. Bannon of IFF, 722 00:39:57,354 --> 00:40:00,107 he'd like to meet with you today if possible. 723 00:40:00,273 --> 00:40:03,777 - And then finally, Max Factor. 724 00:40:03,944 --> 00:40:07,280 And Max Factor was a subsidiary of Norton Simon. 725 00:40:07,447 --> 00:40:11,535 ♪ Say yes ♪ 726 00:40:11,701 --> 00:40:13,078 ♪ Yes, I can ♪ 727 00:40:13,245 --> 00:40:15,872 - I remember Halston saying to Andy and me, 728 00:40:16,039 --> 00:40:18,875 "You know, I really like the Norton Simon people 729 00:40:19,042 --> 00:40:21,336 "because they're all so tall." 730 00:40:25,298 --> 00:40:28,135 David Mahoney was the chairman of Norton Simon. 731 00:40:28,301 --> 00:40:30,595 And he was tall, good-looking, 732 00:40:30,762 --> 00:40:32,848 and you know, a lot of glamour. 733 00:40:33,014 --> 00:40:36,518 ♪ There's lots of chaff, but there's lots of wheat ♪ 734 00:40:46,236 --> 00:40:49,156 ♪ Say yes ♪ 735 00:40:49,322 --> 00:40:50,949 - It seemed like a good match. 736 00:40:51,116 --> 00:40:55,120 If he was bought in total under Norton Simon, 737 00:40:55,287 --> 00:40:58,039 he'd have the freedom to explore and to develop more 738 00:40:58,206 --> 00:41:00,041 of what Halston wanted. 739 00:41:00,208 --> 00:41:01,084 ♪ Yes, I'll dare ♪ 740 00:41:01,251 --> 00:41:03,920 ♪ Yes, I'll fly ♪ 741 00:41:14,222 --> 00:41:18,894 ♪ Yes (chuckling) ♪ (audience applauding) 742 00:41:19,811 --> 00:41:22,731 (gentle piano music) 743 00:41:26,026 --> 00:41:28,445 - At the time, it seemed like a huge coup. 744 00:41:28,612 --> 00:41:31,198 And all his friends, I mean, including Andy and all of us, 745 00:41:31,364 --> 00:41:33,241 were very happy for him. 746 00:41:33,408 --> 00:41:37,370 - He told me, "Gino, we're gonna be very busy 747 00:41:37,537 --> 00:41:41,833 "because I'm gonna design furniture, car interiors. 748 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,878 "I'm gonna design a carpet." 749 00:41:45,045 --> 00:41:46,963 - Well, don't you find that if you take on that many things, 750 00:41:47,130 --> 00:41:49,216 that one of your projects is going to suffer? 751 00:41:49,382 --> 00:41:50,926 - It's rather like growing a tree. 752 00:41:51,092 --> 00:41:52,302 You know, everyone thinks you're an overnight success. 753 00:41:52,469 --> 00:41:54,429 I've worked very hard for 20 years. 754 00:41:54,596 --> 00:41:56,723 And, you know, it's just a further extension of it, 755 00:41:56,890 --> 00:41:58,266 it's another branch. 756 00:41:58,433 --> 00:42:01,728 And they all help each other, in a curious way. 757 00:42:03,855 --> 00:42:07,067 - Was this the beginning of the end? 758 00:42:07,234 --> 00:42:08,944 Or was it just the beginning? 759 00:42:09,110 --> 00:42:11,613 (vibrant music) 760 00:42:14,658 --> 00:42:18,078 - In 1973, five American designers 761 00:42:18,245 --> 00:42:19,913 and five French designers 762 00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:23,792 were showing their collections at one time, at one place, 763 00:42:23,959 --> 00:42:26,002 the Palace of Versailles. 764 00:42:28,463 --> 00:42:31,132 - American designers had never been invited 765 00:42:31,299 --> 00:42:32,550 to show in Paris. 766 00:42:34,094 --> 00:42:36,471 And this was a huge, huge deal. 767 00:42:40,517 --> 00:42:41,851 - For Halston, it was very important. 768 00:42:42,018 --> 00:42:44,312 He'd go as far as he had to go to get it 769 00:42:44,479 --> 00:42:47,357 to be the best he thought he could make it. 770 00:42:47,524 --> 00:42:50,860 - He realized that you need a star in there. 771 00:42:52,529 --> 00:42:55,991 What happened was that Halston got David Mahoney 772 00:42:56,157 --> 00:43:00,036 to sponsor the trip, and David loved it. 773 00:43:00,203 --> 00:43:01,788 He fit right in there. 774 00:43:01,955 --> 00:43:06,042 (gentle instrumental music) 775 00:43:06,209 --> 00:43:07,752 - David Mahoney seemed to me 776 00:43:07,919 --> 00:43:10,297 to be fairly ambitious socially. 777 00:43:10,463 --> 00:43:12,924 And like so many self-made people, 778 00:43:13,091 --> 00:43:17,595 they wanted to be part of this kinda cafe society. 779 00:43:22,642 --> 00:43:25,395 - It was a very competitive evening. 780 00:43:28,023 --> 00:43:30,233 - I think the designers were having difficulty 781 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:32,193 with each other. 782 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:35,488 The French took up all the time for the rehearsal, 783 00:43:35,655 --> 00:43:37,574 and we were the addendums. 784 00:43:38,658 --> 00:43:40,243 It was rude, actually. 785 00:43:41,494 --> 00:43:44,873 - Their whole presentation was beyond grand. 786 00:43:46,416 --> 00:43:47,751 They changed orchestras 787 00:43:47,917 --> 00:43:51,046 for each of the different designer segments. 788 00:43:51,212 --> 00:43:52,756 - We couldn't rehearse. 789 00:43:52,922 --> 00:43:55,258 All of us were waiting and waiting. 790 00:43:55,425 --> 00:43:57,427 It was cold, damp. 791 00:43:57,594 --> 00:44:00,722 Unfortunately with Halston, it got to him. 792 00:44:00,889 --> 00:44:02,724 - A terrible fight seems to break out. 793 00:44:02,891 --> 00:44:06,811 I heard some very vicious things were said. 794 00:44:06,978 --> 00:44:09,856 - He did have a blowup, very dramatic. 795 00:44:10,940 --> 00:44:13,610 - It was very difficult. 796 00:44:13,777 --> 00:44:15,445 Halston left, and Liza said, you know, 797 00:44:15,612 --> 00:44:17,906 "We've got to get this show done." 798 00:44:18,073 --> 00:44:20,367 - She's the one who sat down with Halston. 799 00:44:20,533 --> 00:44:22,202 She unified everybody. 800 00:44:23,995 --> 00:44:27,082 - We'd open, and I'd sing Bonjour Paris. 801 00:44:28,249 --> 00:44:31,461 ♪ I wanna step out down the Champs-Elysee ♪ 802 00:44:31,628 --> 00:44:34,798 ♪ From the Arch of Triumph to the Petit Palais ♪ 803 00:44:34,964 --> 00:44:37,425 ♪ That's for me ♪ 804 00:44:37,592 --> 00:44:40,678 ♪ Bonjour, Paris ♪ - Bonjour, Paris! 805 00:44:40,845 --> 00:44:41,930 So. 806 00:44:42,097 --> 00:44:44,891 (upbeat music) 807 00:44:45,058 --> 00:44:46,434 Let's get started. 808 00:44:46,601 --> 00:44:47,769 And we were off. 809 00:44:51,856 --> 00:44:53,817 - It was directed like a musical. 810 00:44:53,983 --> 00:44:57,237 - Liza said, "Look, it doesn't wanna look rehearsed. 811 00:44:57,404 --> 00:45:00,323 "The more human, the more goofed up, 812 00:45:00,490 --> 00:45:03,118 "that's gonna make this happen." 813 00:45:04,577 --> 00:45:06,996 - We were so wild, in comparison. 814 00:45:07,163 --> 00:45:10,208 We had 12 African-American girls. 815 00:45:10,375 --> 00:45:11,668 They only had one. 816 00:45:16,381 --> 00:45:20,718 - No sets, it was just straightforward fashion, 817 00:45:20,885 --> 00:45:24,973 in your face, and modern. 818 00:45:29,978 --> 00:45:33,398 - All of that energy and that joy and that wonder 819 00:45:33,565 --> 00:45:35,275 and that curiosity. 820 00:45:35,442 --> 00:45:36,734 Well, that is America. 821 00:45:36,901 --> 00:45:39,404 (audience applauding) 822 00:45:39,571 --> 00:45:41,823 At the end of Halston's piece, 823 00:45:43,241 --> 00:45:46,202 they threw their programs up in the air. 824 00:45:46,369 --> 00:45:47,620 They went bananas. 825 00:45:48,997 --> 00:45:52,584 - Versailles put American fashion on the map. 826 00:45:52,750 --> 00:45:53,501 On the map. 827 00:45:55,211 --> 00:45:58,131 - Halston was at the top of his game. 828 00:45:58,298 --> 00:46:01,384 He came like a king of the Americans. 829 00:46:01,551 --> 00:46:04,012 - Versailles was an extension 830 00:46:04,179 --> 00:46:07,182 of what he felt he could achieve going down the road 831 00:46:07,348 --> 00:46:09,184 because of Norton Simon. 832 00:46:11,519 --> 00:46:14,105 When he came back, the whole thing changed. 833 00:46:14,272 --> 00:46:16,774 His first real office by himself 834 00:46:16,941 --> 00:46:20,278 was all lined with mirrors, all along. 835 00:46:20,445 --> 00:46:22,864 It was like, totally mirrored. 836 00:46:23,031 --> 00:46:26,201 Very modern and very slick and minimal. 837 00:46:26,367 --> 00:46:30,371 You can see his changing of his whole almost psyche. 838 00:46:32,332 --> 00:46:35,460 The hair started getting cut less bohemian, 839 00:46:35,627 --> 00:46:38,213 more crisp and clean, opened his face. 840 00:46:38,379 --> 00:46:40,256 The white shirt, the tie. 841 00:46:41,591 --> 00:46:42,926 He's very in control. 842 00:46:43,092 --> 00:46:45,011 He's very, he is Halston. 843 00:46:46,387 --> 00:46:48,097 He is Halston, you know? 844 00:46:48,264 --> 00:46:49,807 And it was like, wow! 845 00:46:51,476 --> 00:46:54,145 (slow jazz music) 846 00:46:57,982 --> 00:47:00,485 - I'm Halston, and this is my home. 847 00:47:02,779 --> 00:47:05,073 The architect was Paul Rudolph. 848 00:47:05,240 --> 00:47:07,992 And the day I saw it, I bought it. 849 00:47:08,159 --> 00:47:09,869 It's the only real modern house 850 00:47:10,036 --> 00:47:12,539 built in the City of New York since the Second World War. 851 00:47:12,705 --> 00:47:15,458 It's like living in a three-dimensional sculpture. 852 00:47:15,625 --> 00:47:18,169 - When I was hired by Norton Simon, 853 00:47:18,336 --> 00:47:20,088 of course I had to meet Halston. 854 00:47:20,255 --> 00:47:22,882 So I went to his townhouse. 855 00:47:23,049 --> 00:47:24,759 And he showed me through the whole thing, 856 00:47:24,926 --> 00:47:27,345 and he was clearly delighted with his new toy. 857 00:47:27,512 --> 00:47:29,305 And I was terribly impressed. 858 00:47:29,472 --> 00:47:30,932 And I remember saying to him, 859 00:47:31,099 --> 00:47:32,892 I'm gonna enjoy making money for you, Halston, 860 00:47:33,059 --> 00:47:35,478 'cause you know how to spend it. 861 00:47:36,896 --> 00:47:39,148 My brief was that, whatever else you do, 862 00:47:39,315 --> 00:47:42,777 you've got to get the fragrance underway. 863 00:47:42,944 --> 00:47:45,947 He wanted Elsa to design the bottle. 864 00:47:46,114 --> 00:47:47,532 - Elsa Peretti would come in. 865 00:47:47,699 --> 00:47:50,493 He wanted it to be sort of a teardrop shape, 866 00:47:50,660 --> 00:47:53,204 like her iconic necklaces. 867 00:47:53,371 --> 00:47:57,333 And they went through a number of iterations. 868 00:47:57,500 --> 00:48:00,420 - I design not thinking about the deadline. 869 00:48:00,587 --> 00:48:03,798 You know how much time it take me to do this glass? 870 00:48:03,965 --> 00:48:05,466 - - No. 871 00:48:05,633 --> 00:48:07,176 - From '74 up to now. 872 00:48:08,469 --> 00:48:10,513 And they're still not good. 873 00:48:10,680 --> 00:48:13,641 (ethereal music) 874 00:48:13,808 --> 00:48:16,477 - No one had ever seen a bottle like that. 875 00:48:16,644 --> 00:48:18,354 It had a curved neck. 876 00:48:18,521 --> 00:48:20,106 Max Factor people hated it. 877 00:48:20,273 --> 00:48:21,691 - Production people at Max Factor called me and said, 878 00:48:21,858 --> 00:48:24,527 "You know what this nut is doing now? 879 00:48:24,694 --> 00:48:27,155 "He's putting out a bottle that looks like a glob. 880 00:48:27,322 --> 00:48:29,157 "You can't fill it from the top. 881 00:48:29,324 --> 00:48:31,451 "It won't work." 882 00:48:31,618 --> 00:48:33,244 - They had to get a special stopper. 883 00:48:33,411 --> 00:48:35,330 They were talking about the economics of it. 884 00:48:35,496 --> 00:48:36,998 - I don't think Halston really cared 885 00:48:37,165 --> 00:48:38,499 what they thought. 886 00:48:38,666 --> 00:48:41,377 (machinery whirring) 887 00:48:43,004 --> 00:48:44,756 - It is my name attached to it, 888 00:48:44,922 --> 00:48:47,008 so I want to live with this for a long time. 889 00:48:47,175 --> 00:48:51,054 Just the bottle alone is a revolutionary new concept. 890 00:48:51,220 --> 00:48:52,639 - Then I got another phone call. 891 00:48:52,805 --> 00:48:54,432 It said, "You also realize what he's doing? 892 00:48:54,599 --> 00:48:58,269 "He's not even putting his name on it." 893 00:48:58,436 --> 00:49:00,313 - Because he thought it was a work of art. 894 00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:03,733 And simplicity was the keynote. 895 00:49:03,900 --> 00:49:05,109 So his name was on the ribbon 896 00:49:05,276 --> 00:49:07,153 with which the bottle itself was tied. 897 00:49:07,320 --> 00:49:11,115 No one else had done it that way before. 898 00:49:11,282 --> 00:49:13,743 And then the fragrance caught on. 899 00:49:14,827 --> 00:49:16,454 It became a seller. 900 00:49:16,621 --> 00:49:18,623 (exciting music) 901 00:49:18,790 --> 00:49:21,793 The largest American designer fragrance. 902 00:49:21,959 --> 00:49:24,045 The stores couldn't get it fast enough. 903 00:49:24,212 --> 00:49:25,380 It was ballistic. 904 00:49:25,546 --> 00:49:26,964 - You'd get into a taxi in New York, 905 00:49:27,131 --> 00:49:28,466 and the taxi driver would say, 906 00:49:28,633 --> 00:49:31,886 "Oh, you smell good, you're wearing Halston." 907 00:49:34,305 --> 00:49:38,059 Once it started to go, everything started to go. 908 00:49:40,395 --> 00:49:43,022 - I began a very large license program. 909 00:49:43,189 --> 00:49:45,108 We were the first American designer 910 00:49:45,274 --> 00:49:48,486 to really do this heavy. 911 00:49:48,653 --> 00:49:52,115 - I have two fragrances for men, a tie licensee, 912 00:49:52,281 --> 00:49:53,616 two suede sport jackets. 913 00:49:53,783 --> 00:49:56,911 We have an entire cosmetic line. 914 00:49:57,078 --> 00:49:58,162 My name is Halston. 915 00:49:58,329 --> 00:49:59,706 I'm Halston. 916 00:49:59,872 --> 00:50:01,249 - You've got luggage, you've got-- 917 00:50:01,416 --> 00:50:03,000 - Rugs, sheets, perfume, cosmetics. 918 00:50:03,167 --> 00:50:04,377 - Really? 919 00:50:04,544 --> 00:50:05,336 - Shoes, bags, gloves, sunglasses, 920 00:50:05,503 --> 00:50:07,171 all kinds of things. 921 00:50:07,338 --> 00:50:08,673 - Holy cow, you wouldn't have 20 till payday, would you? 922 00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:11,092 I'm a little short. (audience laughing) 923 00:50:11,259 --> 00:50:13,469 - The United States of America. 924 00:50:13,636 --> 00:50:17,598 - He designed the uniform for the '76 Olympics. 925 00:50:17,765 --> 00:50:19,851 - He designed the new Girl Scout Uniform for leaders, 926 00:50:20,017 --> 00:50:22,395 so we don't have to wear the drab-looking things we used to. 927 00:50:22,562 --> 00:50:23,646 Thank you. - Thank you very much, 928 00:50:23,813 --> 00:50:26,274 you know. (audience applauding) 929 00:50:26,441 --> 00:50:27,942 - And you also dressed the Avis-- 930 00:50:28,109 --> 00:50:30,069 - Well, the whole Avis Company. 931 00:50:30,236 --> 00:50:31,195 No, I do a lot of things like that. 932 00:50:31,362 --> 00:50:32,739 - When do you sleep? 933 00:50:32,905 --> 00:50:34,407 - Oh, well, I sleep. (audience applauding) 934 00:50:34,574 --> 00:50:36,117 - I would call that the golden years. 935 00:50:36,284 --> 00:50:38,786 What he touched turned to gold. 936 00:50:40,246 --> 00:50:43,875 He set up the deal for Elsa to go with Tiffany. 937 00:50:44,041 --> 00:50:48,337 - Halston took me there, and there I was, with Tiffany. 938 00:50:48,504 --> 00:50:50,465 - That's it, that's it, that's all, please. 939 00:50:50,631 --> 00:50:51,591 - He made the wedding clothes 940 00:50:51,758 --> 00:50:53,468 for Sly and the Family Stone. 941 00:50:55,178 --> 00:50:56,304 - He designed 942 00:50:56,471 --> 00:50:57,972 all the costumes for Martha Graham, 943 00:50:58,139 --> 00:51:00,308 and then supported the company. 944 00:51:00,475 --> 00:51:02,894 (dramatic music) 945 00:51:03,060 --> 00:51:05,605 - He had a lot of things on his plate. 946 00:51:05,772 --> 00:51:10,318 And I have a feeling that is where some of the tension 947 00:51:10,485 --> 00:51:11,819 started to happen. 948 00:51:14,447 --> 00:51:16,449 - Halston felt that he, individually, 949 00:51:16,616 --> 00:51:18,910 had to design everything that was licensed, 950 00:51:19,076 --> 00:51:21,412 and that was a monumental task. 951 00:51:23,456 --> 00:51:24,999 - I must be a part of it. 952 00:51:25,166 --> 00:51:27,794 I never, ever just lent my name 953 00:51:27,960 --> 00:51:30,546 for a commercial business venture. 954 00:51:32,507 --> 00:51:35,510 - From the first day I got there, 955 00:51:35,676 --> 00:51:38,763 one of the things that I did every couple of weeks 956 00:51:38,930 --> 00:51:42,141 was go to the bank and take out a ton of cash 957 00:51:42,308 --> 00:51:45,394 and bring it back in an envelope. 958 00:51:45,561 --> 00:51:47,188 He'd say, "I might be in a meeting, 959 00:51:47,355 --> 00:51:50,942 but if Mr. Fisher comes, 960 00:51:51,108 --> 00:51:53,319 "just give him the envelope." 961 00:51:56,364 --> 00:51:59,575 I never saw him snort cocaine, but I paid, 962 00:52:01,410 --> 00:52:04,664 I mean, I got a lot of money every few weeks. 963 00:52:04,831 --> 00:52:06,040 $2,000 to $3,000. 964 00:52:07,291 --> 00:52:09,252 - I want to stop all the kind of bullshit 965 00:52:09,418 --> 00:52:10,753 that we were drug addicts. 966 00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:13,214 We'd smoke, yeah, but we work. 967 00:52:14,549 --> 00:52:17,051 For that our things were going. 968 00:52:17,218 --> 00:52:18,845 For that Halston thing. 969 00:52:19,011 --> 00:52:20,179 What do you think, with Halston, 970 00:52:20,346 --> 00:52:22,390 we were there and smoking? 971 00:52:22,557 --> 00:52:26,352 No, we were thinking, what you wear, what you do 972 00:52:26,519 --> 00:52:28,271 all night long. 973 00:52:28,437 --> 00:52:31,148 I was working all night long. 974 00:52:31,315 --> 00:52:35,069 Yeah, we took drugs (snorts) of course. 975 00:52:35,236 --> 00:52:39,657 How you cannot take drugs, being up all night long? 976 00:52:39,824 --> 00:52:41,367 But it was smoking. 977 00:52:41,534 --> 00:52:44,036 It was not heavy drugs. 978 00:52:44,203 --> 00:52:45,955 A little coke sometimes. 979 00:52:47,957 --> 00:52:49,542 - Halston took me into his office one day, 980 00:52:49,709 --> 00:52:50,835 and he just said, "You know, 981 00:52:51,002 --> 00:52:52,336 I want somebody who is completely 982 00:52:52,503 --> 00:52:54,380 committed to the business." 983 00:52:58,551 --> 00:53:01,137 - I went to work for Halston. 984 00:53:01,304 --> 00:53:03,180 The best thing I ever did. 985 00:53:04,557 --> 00:53:07,560 I was totally, 1,000% devoted to him. 986 00:53:07,727 --> 00:53:10,521 I remember going in to set up my office. 987 00:53:10,688 --> 00:53:12,023 It would start to rain. 988 00:53:12,189 --> 00:53:13,858 And when I got off the elevator, 989 00:53:14,025 --> 00:53:15,568 Halston was standing there. 990 00:53:15,735 --> 00:53:19,447 He looked at me, and he said, "You're all wet." 991 00:53:19,614 --> 00:53:22,491 He was carrying a red raincoat, and he said, 992 00:53:22,658 --> 00:53:24,201 "I want you to try this on. 993 00:53:24,368 --> 00:53:26,746 "I made this for Liza, but I want you to have it." 994 00:53:26,913 --> 00:53:29,540 (jazz noir music) 995 00:53:31,292 --> 00:53:33,127 He was such a hard worker. 996 00:53:33,294 --> 00:53:35,087 I mean, he'd come in early, go home late, 997 00:53:35,254 --> 00:53:37,757 and always accomplish something. 998 00:53:37,924 --> 00:53:39,133 Until Studio 54. 999 00:53:41,469 --> 00:53:44,138 ♪ Dance ♪ 1000 00:53:44,305 --> 00:53:45,848 ♪ Just a feeling ♪ 1001 00:53:46,015 --> 00:53:50,436 ♪ Dance ♪ ♪ Just a feeling ♪ 1002 00:53:55,066 --> 00:53:57,652 ♪ Just a feeling ♪ 1003 00:54:00,488 --> 00:54:02,740 - I took Halston to Studio 54. 1004 00:54:02,907 --> 00:54:04,909 So I don't know what other stories you heard, 1005 00:54:05,076 --> 00:54:07,203 but I remember that was the first time, and he says, 1006 00:54:07,370 --> 00:54:09,330 "I'm gonna bring friends." 1007 00:54:14,001 --> 00:54:17,672 - Halston gave a birthday party for Bianca Jagger, 1008 00:54:17,838 --> 00:54:19,215 and Bianca got on the horse, 1009 00:54:19,382 --> 00:54:22,718 and that photograph went around the world. 1010 00:54:22,885 --> 00:54:27,139 And that made 54 like the place where everybody went. 1011 00:54:27,306 --> 00:54:31,310 (camera shutter clicking) 1012 00:54:31,477 --> 00:54:33,479 - You're a devotee of Studio 54. 1013 00:54:33,646 --> 00:54:35,022 What do you see there? 1014 00:54:35,189 --> 00:54:36,732 - As Truman said, it's the only democracy. 1015 00:54:36,899 --> 00:54:40,152 It's good for everybody on every level of society. 1016 00:54:40,319 --> 00:54:41,696 - This is the scene 1017 00:54:41,862 --> 00:54:44,156 outside a New York disco called Studio 54. 1018 00:54:44,323 --> 00:54:47,284 This is the place that's in with the disco crowd, 1019 00:54:47,451 --> 00:54:51,372 except that these people are still out. 1020 00:54:51,539 --> 00:54:53,165 Of course, Liza Minnelli and her kind of celebrities 1021 00:54:53,332 --> 00:54:54,875 sweep right through the protective ranks 1022 00:54:55,042 --> 00:54:58,295 of doorkeepers. 1023 00:54:58,462 --> 00:55:00,548 - They are discriminating at Studio 54. 1024 00:55:00,715 --> 00:55:03,217 Recently, a president of a Wall Street brokerage firm 1025 00:55:03,384 --> 00:55:05,261 was ejected, and he was a member. 1026 00:55:05,428 --> 00:55:08,264 So he's suing for a million. 1027 00:55:08,431 --> 00:55:09,557 - I'll do a Donna Summer song. 1028 00:55:09,724 --> 00:55:11,225 Ah. (laughing) 1029 00:55:11,392 --> 00:55:13,728 (disco music) 1030 00:55:16,981 --> 00:55:19,775 - I think they lived out a lot of their fantasies. 1031 00:55:19,942 --> 00:55:22,611 As gay boys, Hollywood was such a big influence 1032 00:55:22,778 --> 00:55:25,156 on both Andy and Halston. 1033 00:55:25,322 --> 00:55:26,824 - I was born in the Midwest. 1034 00:55:26,991 --> 00:55:30,411 And, you know, much of your life was really probably 1035 00:55:30,578 --> 00:55:35,541 involved in going to the movies on Saturdays and Sundays. 1036 00:55:35,708 --> 00:55:37,043 - If you were at a dinner party 1037 00:55:37,209 --> 00:55:38,544 and you could have one person on the left 1038 00:55:38,711 --> 00:55:40,379 and one on the right, who would that be? 1039 00:55:40,546 --> 00:55:41,839 - Halston and Elizabeth Taylor. 1040 00:55:42,006 --> 00:55:42,965 - Why? 1041 00:55:43,132 --> 00:55:45,718 - Oh, they're both wonderful. 1042 00:55:45,885 --> 00:55:47,094 - They weren't society, 1043 00:55:47,261 --> 00:55:49,638 but they became a new kind of society. 1044 00:55:52,016 --> 00:55:54,435 Suddenly, you know, gays were part of society. 1045 00:55:54,602 --> 00:55:57,271 Many more Jews were part of society. 1046 00:56:00,399 --> 00:56:02,109 - He wasn't a snob. 1047 00:56:02,276 --> 00:56:03,903 Halston wasn't a snob. 1048 00:56:04,070 --> 00:56:05,780 He wasn't uppity. 1049 00:56:05,946 --> 00:56:07,281 He wasn't anything. 1050 00:56:07,448 --> 00:56:09,075 - Both you and Halston come from Indiana. 1051 00:56:09,241 --> 00:56:11,452 You sound like Cary Grant, you sound like Noel Coward. 1052 00:56:11,619 --> 00:56:13,287 (both laughing) 1053 00:56:13,454 --> 00:56:15,039 You moved the accent. 1054 00:56:15,206 --> 00:56:16,582 Were you unhappy at some point with where you came from, 1055 00:56:16,749 --> 00:56:18,584 and decided, I'm going to show them? 1056 00:56:18,751 --> 00:56:20,086 - Never. 1057 00:56:20,252 --> 00:56:21,420 Never. 1058 00:56:21,587 --> 00:56:22,797 I wasn't, anyway. 1059 00:56:26,383 --> 00:56:29,345 - Well, everybody was free love, and free this, 1060 00:56:29,512 --> 00:56:33,140 and poppers and coke and this and that. 1061 00:56:38,187 --> 00:56:42,233 It got very muddy, and it's like quicksand. 1062 00:56:43,609 --> 00:56:46,779 If everybody around you is going down, 1063 00:56:46,946 --> 00:56:48,864 you're gonna go too. 1064 00:56:52,743 --> 00:56:55,496 - Victor was a destructive force. 1065 00:56:55,663 --> 00:56:58,374 Andy did Victor's portraits, I think he did two. 1066 00:56:58,541 --> 00:57:00,292 And one day, Victor shows up 1067 00:57:00,459 --> 00:57:02,837 with the paintings completely covered with graffiti, 1068 00:57:03,003 --> 00:57:04,171 and just a mess. 1069 00:57:06,507 --> 00:57:09,051 And he had painted over them, 1070 00:57:09,218 --> 00:57:13,514 thinking this was like taking Andy's art to another level. 1071 00:57:13,681 --> 00:57:15,307 And Andy was really mad. 1072 00:57:15,474 --> 00:57:16,809 And Andy was like, 1073 00:57:16,976 --> 00:57:18,519 "Don't think I'm doing new ones, Victor." 1074 00:57:32,116 --> 00:57:34,535 (upbeat music) 1075 00:57:36,036 --> 00:57:40,833 - Company was booming, so I went out looking for space. 1076 00:57:41,000 --> 00:57:44,753 And I came upon this thing in Olympic Tower, 1077 00:57:44,920 --> 00:57:46,463 and that was the end of the search, 1078 00:57:46,630 --> 00:57:51,010 because Halston, "That's the one we're gonna get." 1079 00:57:51,177 --> 00:57:52,636 The architect came up with some plans, 1080 00:57:52,803 --> 00:57:54,555 and Halston didn't like them. 1081 00:57:54,722 --> 00:57:58,017 He wanted something that took spectacular use of the space. 1082 00:57:58,184 --> 00:58:01,562 And he began to design what he wanted. 1083 00:58:17,578 --> 00:58:19,413 Mirrors everywhere. 1084 00:58:19,580 --> 00:58:20,623 The walls were mirrors. 1085 00:58:20,789 --> 00:58:23,334 Everything was mirrors. 1086 00:58:23,500 --> 00:58:25,002 Except my office. 1087 00:58:25,169 --> 00:58:26,921 I wouldn't allow them to put up mirrors in my office. 1088 00:58:27,087 --> 00:58:28,964 I didn't wanna look at myself all day. 1089 00:58:32,218 --> 00:58:35,596 - Halston made sure that his entire workroom 1090 00:58:35,763 --> 00:58:38,849 were in a room with a lot of windows, 1091 00:58:39,016 --> 00:58:42,519 so that as they sewed and fitted every day, 1092 00:58:42,686 --> 00:58:44,813 they didn't feel confined. 1093 00:58:44,980 --> 00:58:47,066 That really impressed me. 1094 00:58:47,233 --> 00:58:51,070 - When the workmen saw the space, the women wept. 1095 00:58:52,529 --> 00:58:55,032 - That was the best workroom in the world. 1096 00:58:55,199 --> 00:58:57,743 Was even too good to be a workroom. 1097 00:58:57,910 --> 00:59:00,412 (upbeat music) 1098 00:59:13,634 --> 00:59:16,762 - There wasn't, at the time, I don't think there is today, 1099 00:59:16,929 --> 00:59:20,808 a fashion house ever as grand as that was. 1100 00:59:25,771 --> 00:59:30,359 (camera shutter clicking) 1101 00:59:35,281 --> 00:59:36,907 - In that space, 1102 00:59:37,074 --> 00:59:39,785 he had reached something very specific to him. 1103 00:59:39,952 --> 00:59:42,288 That's where he felt he belonged. 1104 00:59:42,454 --> 00:59:44,498 ♪ I'm in with the in crowd ♪ 1105 00:59:44,665 --> 00:59:47,001 - The shows there were amazing. 1106 00:59:47,167 --> 00:59:49,878 You felt like walking on a cloud down the runway. 1107 00:59:50,045 --> 00:59:52,965 ♪ I'm in with the in crowd ♪ 1108 00:59:53,132 --> 00:59:55,592 - Once he moved into the Olympic Tower, 1109 00:59:55,759 --> 00:59:58,595 his front row was the most glamorous in New York. 1110 00:59:58,762 --> 01:00:01,724 Diana Vreeland, Lee Radziwill, Liza Minnelli. 1111 01:00:01,890 --> 01:00:03,559 (camera shutter clicking) 1112 01:00:03,726 --> 01:00:06,478 - He was the first to really bring in movie stars. 1113 01:00:06,645 --> 01:00:09,898 (audience applauding) 1114 01:00:10,065 --> 01:00:11,275 - They are the elite of New York City, 1115 01:00:11,442 --> 01:00:13,152 and they've been invited by Halston, 1116 01:00:13,319 --> 01:00:15,487 who's standing here beside me. 1117 01:00:17,156 --> 01:00:18,198 - I always saw him as famous. 1118 01:00:18,365 --> 01:00:20,075 - I made it in New York. 1119 01:00:20,242 --> 01:00:23,704 - But then, of course, it became ginormous. 1120 01:00:25,331 --> 01:00:26,749 - And what he did was 1121 01:00:26,915 --> 01:00:28,292 he surrounded himself for public appearances 1122 01:00:28,459 --> 01:00:30,919 with what became known as the Halstonettes. 1123 01:00:31,086 --> 01:00:33,255 ♪ I go where the in crowd goes ♪ 1124 01:00:33,422 --> 01:00:35,424 - Brilliant marketing, brilliant. 1125 01:00:38,302 --> 01:00:41,555 - Sometimes there were 20 of us, you know? 1126 01:00:43,265 --> 01:00:44,808 - Some of the people I knew in the fashion business, 1127 01:00:44,975 --> 01:00:46,060 I mean, they were totally dismissive. 1128 01:00:46,226 --> 01:00:47,686 I mean, who does he think he is? 1129 01:00:47,853 --> 01:00:49,563 And the answer is, what picture is gonna run? 1130 01:00:49,730 --> 01:00:51,315 Is it gonna be some fashion designer standing by himself? 1131 01:00:51,482 --> 01:00:55,319 Or is it gonna be Halston with the Halstonettes? 1132 01:00:55,486 --> 01:01:00,074 ♪ They know the in crowd is out of sight ♪ 1133 01:01:02,493 --> 01:01:03,535 - I want to run the faces of all 1134 01:01:03,702 --> 01:01:05,245 the women close-up. 1135 01:01:05,412 --> 01:01:06,121 - Right. 1136 01:01:06,288 --> 01:01:08,082 - We've done that. 1137 01:01:08,248 --> 01:01:09,583 Okay, where are the-- 1138 01:01:09,750 --> 01:01:10,542 - John Fairchild is the publisher 1139 01:01:10,709 --> 01:01:12,169 of Women's Wear. 1140 01:01:12,336 --> 01:01:14,088 As always, he has the final word 1141 01:01:14,254 --> 01:01:17,925 on how last night's party will look in the next edition. 1142 01:01:18,092 --> 01:01:21,053 Women's Wear is the bible of the industry. 1143 01:01:21,220 --> 01:01:22,471 - Halston, if they stand on the table, 1144 01:01:22,638 --> 01:01:25,015 will it hurt the table? 1145 01:01:25,182 --> 01:01:26,433 - It would, 'cause I just had 'em lacquered. 1146 01:01:26,600 --> 01:01:28,143 - No, no, no. 1147 01:01:28,310 --> 01:01:29,520 Can they stand on the table with their bare feet? 1148 01:01:29,686 --> 01:01:31,647 - Whatever makes you happy. 1149 01:01:31,814 --> 01:01:32,856 Assistants. 1150 01:01:33,023 --> 01:01:34,441 - Yes? 1151 01:01:34,608 --> 01:01:36,860 - Boy, what a shot that is, whoa. 1152 01:01:37,027 --> 01:01:38,779 - Leave the candles. 1153 01:01:59,758 --> 01:02:01,760 - Everybody at the Olympic Tower called him H. 1154 01:02:01,927 --> 01:02:02,928 And they'd say, "H?" 1155 01:02:03,095 --> 01:02:05,389 And he'd say, "I am the emperor." 1156 01:02:06,473 --> 01:02:09,977 And he was believing this stuff. 1157 01:02:10,144 --> 01:02:11,603 - Halston, is it tougher to get on top, 1158 01:02:11,770 --> 01:02:13,063 or to stay on top? 1159 01:02:14,982 --> 01:02:17,151 - Halston said, "Let me tell you, we're going to China." 1160 01:02:17,317 --> 01:02:18,152 I'm like, wow. 1161 01:02:20,612 --> 01:02:21,738 - China wanted to show the world 1162 01:02:21,905 --> 01:02:23,907 that they were opening up. 1163 01:02:24,074 --> 01:02:26,493 So they invited the master of publicity 1164 01:02:26,660 --> 01:02:28,537 to visit the silk cities. 1165 01:02:31,331 --> 01:02:32,875 - Come on, D.D., come on, everybody. 1166 01:02:33,041 --> 01:02:36,503 What I want to explain to you all is what we're doing. 1167 01:02:36,670 --> 01:02:41,383 - With the China trip, you could see the brain working. 1168 01:02:41,550 --> 01:02:46,054 Each girl had their own personal collection designed. 1169 01:02:46,221 --> 01:02:48,307 Everything, all laid out. 1170 01:02:48,474 --> 01:02:51,351 - We just needed to pack our lingerie and makeup. 1171 01:02:51,518 --> 01:02:53,312 - We will also go to the Ming tombs, 1172 01:02:53,479 --> 01:02:55,647 and we'll go to the Forbidden City. 1173 01:02:55,814 --> 01:02:57,691 And one of the best places is going to be, of course, 1174 01:02:57,858 --> 01:03:00,027 the Great Wall of China. 1175 01:03:00,194 --> 01:03:02,988 - Every affair, you know, dinner here, dinner there. 1176 01:03:03,155 --> 01:03:04,656 Everything was choreographed. 1177 01:03:04,823 --> 01:03:06,241 It was just incredible. 1178 01:03:06,408 --> 01:03:08,660 - If it's a cold day, she'll wear, you know, 1179 01:03:08,827 --> 01:03:11,580 sort of a shawl like this, but this is a Chinatex silk. 1180 01:03:11,747 --> 01:03:13,707 - He just had total control. 1181 01:03:13,874 --> 01:03:15,167 - Hi, Andy. - Hi, Andy. 1182 01:03:15,334 --> 01:03:16,585 - Come on in 1183 01:03:16,752 --> 01:03:18,462 and get photographed, Andy. (chuckling) 1184 01:03:18,629 --> 01:03:22,716 - He asked me one day, "Do you dream of what you're doing?" 1185 01:03:22,883 --> 01:03:25,886 And, obviously, I was exhausted from going to Studio 54 1186 01:03:26,053 --> 01:03:27,471 and all those parties, and I was like, 1187 01:03:27,638 --> 01:03:29,014 no, I haven't dreamt of it. 1188 01:03:29,181 --> 01:03:31,725 He's like, "You know, Naeem, it'll be amazing. 1189 01:03:31,892 --> 01:03:33,936 "You'll be a great designer when you start dreaming. 1190 01:03:34,102 --> 01:03:35,729 "It should come to you in the night, 1191 01:03:35,896 --> 01:03:37,940 "then you know that you are thinking about it." 1192 01:03:38,106 --> 01:03:41,527 - Naeem, why don't you show Andy, put the lights on, 1193 01:03:41,693 --> 01:03:43,570 and make 'em sparkle over there, huh? 1194 01:03:43,737 --> 01:03:45,405 Those are your things. 1195 01:03:45,572 --> 01:03:49,993 - So to him, night and day, it was there. 1196 01:03:50,160 --> 01:03:52,079 - You see, this is only part of them. 1197 01:03:52,246 --> 01:03:54,790 We've got another about 15 people, 'cause all-- 1198 01:03:54,957 --> 01:03:56,416 - There must have been about 30 people. 1199 01:03:56,583 --> 01:03:58,210 And I was coordinating it. 1200 01:03:58,377 --> 01:04:01,463 There was 100 pieces of Hartmann luggage. 1201 01:04:03,799 --> 01:04:04,841 - We were going to China. 1202 01:04:05,008 --> 01:04:06,677 Who got invited to China? 1203 01:04:06,843 --> 01:04:08,387 (models cheering and laughing) 1204 01:04:08,554 --> 01:04:09,930 (upbeat music) 1205 01:04:15,852 --> 01:04:17,521 - I said to a Chinese executive, 1206 01:04:17,688 --> 01:04:19,231 we're coming with a lot of luggage. 1207 01:04:19,398 --> 01:04:20,148 Do you have a way of handling it? 1208 01:04:20,315 --> 01:04:21,316 He said, "Oh, yes, yes." 1209 01:04:21,483 --> 01:04:24,027 And he came with a shopping cart. 1210 01:04:24,194 --> 01:04:28,824 They had one shopping cart to move our luggage. (laughing) 1211 01:04:33,453 --> 01:04:35,455 - This is the beginning of the world tour of fashions 1212 01:04:35,622 --> 01:04:36,999 by Halston. 1213 01:04:37,165 --> 01:04:37,791 - I think there's a big change. 1214 01:04:37,958 --> 01:04:39,376 - Why? 1215 01:04:39,543 --> 01:04:42,087 - Well, I think it's America's time, really. 1216 01:04:46,133 --> 01:04:47,509 - Here he is, 1217 01:04:47,676 --> 01:04:50,095 sort of an ambassador of American fashion. 1218 01:04:50,262 --> 01:04:53,223 He became somewhat like a world figure. 1219 01:04:54,474 --> 01:04:55,017 (camera shutter clicks) 1220 01:05:08,196 --> 01:05:09,573 (speaking in foreign language) 1221 01:05:09,740 --> 01:05:12,868 (camera shutter clicking) 1222 01:05:14,995 --> 01:05:19,458 - But we were basically there to go to the silk factories. 1223 01:05:19,625 --> 01:05:23,295 - Those people who had done the fabrics 1224 01:05:23,462 --> 01:05:26,548 actually got to see how you could play with the fabric. 1225 01:05:26,715 --> 01:05:29,885 So they were just, like, in awe. 1226 01:05:30,052 --> 01:05:31,511 It was wonderful. 1227 01:05:31,678 --> 01:05:34,681 I was in awe of them being in awe of us. 1228 01:05:35,974 --> 01:05:37,100 - That's great. (woman laughing) 1229 01:05:37,267 --> 01:05:39,645 That's great, I love that on you. 1230 01:05:39,811 --> 01:05:41,104 I love that on you. (crowd applauding) 1231 01:05:41,271 --> 01:05:42,439 - It might be a little tight, 1232 01:05:42,606 --> 01:05:44,983 but I consider it a great compliment 1233 01:05:45,150 --> 01:05:47,527 that she wanted to put it on. 1234 01:05:47,694 --> 01:05:49,488 - Halston was saying, "No, they wanna modernize. 1235 01:05:49,655 --> 01:05:51,073 "They wanna modernize here." 1236 01:05:51,239 --> 01:05:53,241 - Is it that complicated to change the patterns? 1237 01:05:53,408 --> 01:05:55,869 - I think that made the trip for Halston. 1238 01:05:56,036 --> 01:05:58,997 Because I think he thought he could contribute something 1239 01:05:59,164 --> 01:06:03,710 to the people of China. (camera shutter clicking) 1240 01:06:04,503 --> 01:06:05,879 - That was really PR. 1241 01:06:06,046 --> 01:06:08,465 And he got tremendous amount of publicity. 1242 01:06:08,632 --> 01:06:10,175 He was all over. 1243 01:06:10,342 --> 01:06:12,135 And when you see the pictures, they were beautiful. 1244 01:06:12,302 --> 01:06:14,554 I mean, they looked fantastic. 1245 01:06:14,721 --> 01:06:17,224 You know, if you didn't know the back side of the story, 1246 01:06:17,391 --> 01:06:20,394 it looked like a fantastic trip. 1247 01:06:20,560 --> 01:06:22,854 Halston and the group here, Halston and the group there. 1248 01:06:23,021 --> 01:06:24,439 They all looked great. 1249 01:06:24,606 --> 01:06:26,274 You know, half of them are really miserable, 1250 01:06:26,441 --> 01:06:29,236 but they all looked terrific. (laughing) 1251 01:06:37,994 --> 01:06:41,081 (audio screeching) 1252 01:06:46,086 --> 01:06:47,379 - Oh, I'm staying. 1253 01:06:47,546 --> 01:06:49,548 It's exhausting, and I'm just starting. 1254 01:06:49,715 --> 01:06:53,218 - We had a film crew following us the whole time. 1255 01:06:56,179 --> 01:06:59,558 - Every day was directed by Halston. 1256 01:07:00,642 --> 01:07:02,060 - Get out of the camera way. 1257 01:07:02,227 --> 01:07:03,395 The cameras are here, so you can't be here, 1258 01:07:03,562 --> 01:07:04,563 you have to be on the other side. 1259 01:07:04,730 --> 01:07:06,440 - He just wanted total control. 1260 01:07:06,606 --> 01:07:09,443 And it was too much, it became too much. 1261 01:07:09,609 --> 01:07:13,113 - I want you all stand up there, on the runway. 1262 01:07:13,280 --> 01:07:14,531 Not in twos and twos. 1263 01:07:14,698 --> 01:07:15,574 You're doing it like a fashion show. 1264 01:07:15,741 --> 01:07:17,617 It looks so dumb. 1265 01:07:17,784 --> 01:07:19,619 Go out again. 1266 01:07:19,786 --> 01:07:21,496 No, not please, just do it. 1267 01:07:21,663 --> 01:07:23,540 - He was a perfectionist. 1268 01:07:23,707 --> 01:07:26,710 He had a very rough time in giving up. 1269 01:07:26,877 --> 01:07:29,087 It was an emotional, like, lock-in. 1270 01:07:29,254 --> 01:07:30,297 - No, nothing's lined up. 1271 01:07:30,464 --> 01:07:31,173 Connie? 1272 01:07:33,467 --> 01:07:35,969 Can't you people line it up like I've lined it up? 1273 01:07:36,136 --> 01:07:37,095 I mean, really. 1274 01:07:37,262 --> 01:07:38,597 Look at the boards. 1275 01:07:38,764 --> 01:07:39,973 It's so dumb. 1276 01:07:40,140 --> 01:07:42,100 What do you think I did all this for? 1277 01:07:42,267 --> 01:07:43,852 Well, I hope nobody has to go tonight 1278 01:07:44,019 --> 01:07:46,813 because we've got to go through this. 1279 01:07:48,023 --> 01:07:49,775 - He was a bit of a bully. 1280 01:07:49,941 --> 01:07:52,444 You really had to stand up to him, otherwise, you'd be lost. 1281 01:07:52,611 --> 01:07:54,696 And there wasn't a lot of people who could do that. 1282 01:07:54,863 --> 01:07:57,657 Very, very few people in our company. 1283 01:07:58,784 --> 01:08:01,161 - He would snap at you. 1284 01:08:01,328 --> 01:08:05,165 And even though we all had the same amount of abuse, 1285 01:08:06,833 --> 01:08:08,376 you took it personally. 1286 01:08:08,543 --> 01:08:11,713 I never, ever got used to being yelled at. 1287 01:08:13,757 --> 01:08:16,384 - It just became a different relationship 1288 01:08:16,551 --> 01:08:18,345 and a different company. 1289 01:08:22,307 --> 01:08:26,186 - Even with Faye, I mean, she defended that man. 1290 01:08:26,353 --> 01:08:28,438 But he'd just take it all out on her. 1291 01:08:28,605 --> 01:08:32,776 Scream and yell at the top of his lungs, I mean. 1292 01:08:32,943 --> 01:08:33,985 - Come on, come on, D. D. 1293 01:08:34,152 --> 01:08:35,320 Come on, everybody. 1294 01:08:35,487 --> 01:08:37,697 Don't walk out like you're a parade. 1295 01:08:37,864 --> 01:08:41,701 - But the aura of it all, and being a part of it, 1296 01:08:41,868 --> 01:08:43,036 kept you hooked. 1297 01:08:44,162 --> 01:08:45,580 You know, eventually, 1298 01:08:45,747 --> 01:08:48,917 he had all of us wear black at the office. 1299 01:08:50,252 --> 01:08:53,713 He wanted us to be a backdrop to the clothes. 1300 01:08:55,507 --> 01:08:59,135 And everything, to him, was a PR event. 1301 01:08:59,302 --> 01:09:00,804 We were all PR events. 1302 01:09:00,971 --> 01:09:07,143 It was the stage set that was us. 1303 01:09:08,270 --> 01:09:09,145 - Margaret. 1304 01:09:09,312 --> 01:09:11,064 (Margaret laughing) 1305 01:09:11,231 --> 01:09:13,358 - What we're looking for is the illusion of art. 1306 01:09:13,525 --> 01:09:14,693 - Can I give you a little bit of highlight there? 1307 01:09:14,860 --> 01:09:16,069 That's very good. 1308 01:09:18,280 --> 01:09:21,992 - You see, our mistake, including Halston, 1309 01:09:22,158 --> 01:09:24,744 is to take our name too seriously. 1310 01:09:26,621 --> 01:09:27,873 I mean, for me. 1311 01:09:28,039 --> 01:09:29,916 I was a jewelry designer. 1312 01:09:31,042 --> 01:09:32,878 I was a good jewelry designer. 1313 01:09:33,044 --> 01:09:35,463 I dedicate all my time to it. 1314 01:09:57,944 --> 01:10:03,700 - We had fights because he was so much out of it, you know. 1315 01:10:03,867 --> 01:10:05,577 Because I'm vulgar. 1316 01:10:05,744 --> 01:10:07,621 Not vulgar, but, you know, I cannot withstand all the time, 1317 01:10:07,787 --> 01:10:11,458 thinking that the pencil has to be like that, impossible. 1318 01:10:11,625 --> 01:10:12,292 (clapperboard snapping) 1319 01:10:24,012 --> 01:10:30,810 (ominous music) 1320 01:10:35,857 --> 01:10:42,322 - He became a real loner. 1321 01:10:47,410 --> 01:10:49,204 - And did you see the Elizabeth cover? 1322 01:10:49,371 --> 01:10:50,789 - Oh, it's so-- - Oh, that's beautiful. 1323 01:10:50,956 --> 01:10:52,290 - Isn't that wonderful? - I love it for her. 1324 01:10:52,457 --> 01:10:53,833 - She looks great. - She looks really great. 1325 01:10:54,000 --> 01:10:55,377 - I love the picture of her inside. 1326 01:10:55,543 --> 01:10:56,336 - It's good. 1327 01:10:59,172 --> 01:11:00,507 - Oh, it looks great. 1328 01:11:00,674 --> 01:11:02,092 - Do you like that? - Mm-hmm, I love it. 1329 01:11:02,258 --> 01:11:03,843 - Yeah, I think Elizabeth will like that. 1330 01:11:04,010 --> 01:11:05,595 - Color is fabulous. 1331 01:11:05,762 --> 01:11:07,722 Fabulous, it looks good, uh-huh. 1332 01:11:07,889 --> 01:11:11,351 - With the cover of Harper's Bazaar, I just love it on her. 1333 01:11:11,518 --> 01:11:12,602 - And the truth of the matter is 1334 01:11:12,769 --> 01:11:14,604 that his business was slowing down. 1335 01:11:14,771 --> 01:11:18,024 He peaked, and other names were showing up. 1336 01:11:20,068 --> 01:11:21,194 - Which brings us to Calvins, 1337 01:11:21,361 --> 01:11:23,697 and the survival of the fittest. 1338 01:11:23,863 --> 01:11:26,449 - Good morning, Calvin Klein, I presume. 1339 01:11:26,616 --> 01:11:28,034 Is that your name? 1340 01:11:30,203 --> 01:11:34,499 - Perry Ellis is a new name in fashion. 1341 01:11:39,587 --> 01:11:43,925 - But Halston was never one to fall behind. 1342 01:11:47,345 --> 01:11:49,681 - I am pleased to announce an association 1343 01:11:49,848 --> 01:11:53,143 between Halston Enterprises and JCPenney. 1344 01:11:53,309 --> 01:11:57,564 Today, we have signed $1 billion retail sales agreement. 1345 01:11:57,731 --> 01:12:00,233 - It was a license over five years. 1346 01:12:00,400 --> 01:12:03,695 The largest designer deal that had ever been made. 1347 01:12:03,862 --> 01:12:05,780 Enough money to make anyone, even Norton Simon, 1348 01:12:05,947 --> 01:12:07,657 sit up and take notice. 1349 01:12:09,242 --> 01:12:12,328 - I begged him, I begged him not to do the Penney thing. 1350 01:12:12,495 --> 01:12:14,205 This is gonna kill us. 1351 01:12:14,372 --> 01:12:16,207 And he kept saying, "No, no, no, no, no. 1352 01:12:16,374 --> 01:12:19,002 "I wanna dress everybody in America." 1353 01:12:21,046 --> 01:12:22,756 - It sounded like a good deal to me, 1354 01:12:22,922 --> 01:12:26,593 to create things for people who couldn't afford his, yes. 1355 01:12:26,760 --> 01:12:28,219 - Well, you know, strangely enough, 1356 01:12:28,386 --> 01:12:30,388 when I was a kid, I always shopped at Penney's. 1357 01:12:30,555 --> 01:12:33,141 My mother always took me to Penney's to buy all the clothes 1358 01:12:33,308 --> 01:12:35,018 that we wore to school and everything else. 1359 01:12:35,185 --> 01:12:37,353 And it's true, I come from Des Moines, Iowa. 1360 01:12:37,520 --> 01:12:39,564 And my mother being a practical Midwestern lady, 1361 01:12:39,731 --> 01:12:41,483 always took us there. 1362 01:12:41,649 --> 01:12:44,360 - In one highly-publicized stroke of the pen, 1363 01:12:44,527 --> 01:12:47,030 Halston moved from class to mass. 1364 01:12:47,197 --> 01:12:48,615 The reaction of the fashion world 1365 01:12:48,782 --> 01:12:50,950 ranged from shock to outrage. 1366 01:12:52,202 --> 01:12:53,703 - JCPenney? 1367 01:12:53,870 --> 01:12:55,163 - Yes, JCPenney, 1368 01:12:55,330 --> 01:12:57,290 that nationwide middle-class retailer 1369 01:12:57,457 --> 01:12:59,375 that offers clothes right off the rack, 1370 01:12:59,542 --> 01:13:01,920 has landed a very big designer. 1371 01:13:02,087 --> 01:13:02,962 - Would you expect to find a designer 1372 01:13:03,129 --> 01:13:04,547 like Halston in here? 1373 01:13:04,714 --> 01:13:07,133 - No, not Halston in JCPenney. 1374 01:13:07,300 --> 01:13:08,718 - Obviously, we're very excited about it. 1375 01:13:08,885 --> 01:13:11,221 We think it is a catch. 1376 01:13:11,387 --> 01:13:13,473 - JCPenney is trying to trade up. 1377 01:13:13,640 --> 01:13:15,266 But they're not quite gonna change their name 1378 01:13:15,433 --> 01:13:17,477 to JCPeigner or JCPeignoir. 1379 01:13:19,145 --> 01:13:20,814 - I believe in our country, and I like America, 1380 01:13:20,980 --> 01:13:22,273 and I like Americans to look good. 1381 01:13:22,440 --> 01:13:23,691 And I'm an American designer, 1382 01:13:23,858 --> 01:13:25,318 and I love the opportunity to do it. 1383 01:13:25,485 --> 01:13:27,112 - It's a first 1384 01:13:27,278 --> 01:13:28,822 between a department store chain and a major designer, 1385 01:13:28,988 --> 01:13:30,657 with the clothes expected to be on the racks 1386 01:13:30,824 --> 01:13:32,534 in the fall of '83. 1387 01:13:32,700 --> 01:13:35,537 - That makes a very good mix from both catalog and retail. 1388 01:13:35,703 --> 01:13:37,622 - This is called Halston III. 1389 01:13:37,789 --> 01:13:39,457 - It's called Halston III. - Why? 1390 01:13:39,624 --> 01:13:42,460 - Well, it's really the third stage of my career. 1391 01:13:42,627 --> 01:13:44,170 The first being in the millinery business, 1392 01:13:44,337 --> 01:13:45,713 and then in fancy clothes 1393 01:13:45,880 --> 01:13:47,298 and dressing all the stars and things. 1394 01:13:47,465 --> 01:13:51,928 And now, a larger public, dressing America, really. 1395 01:13:52,095 --> 01:13:52,971 - He said he would design it, 1396 01:13:53,138 --> 01:13:54,556 and he designed it. 1397 01:13:54,722 --> 01:13:56,599 And everybody, of course, wanted a piece of it. 1398 01:13:56,766 --> 01:14:00,478 You know, the guy who made scarves wanted Halston scarves. 1399 01:14:00,645 --> 01:14:02,355 The guy who made shoes wanted Halston shoes. 1400 01:14:02,522 --> 01:14:04,524 All that was going on. 1401 01:14:04,691 --> 01:14:08,361 - JCPenney is an organization that is so vast, 1402 01:14:08,528 --> 01:14:10,905 it's not like one person oversees the whole thing. 1403 01:14:11,072 --> 01:14:15,076 And so, talk about cultures, different cultures completely. 1404 01:14:15,243 --> 01:14:17,662 - We asked Penney executives to sum up the Halston III line 1405 01:14:17,829 --> 01:14:19,247 in one word. 1406 01:14:19,414 --> 01:14:20,039 - Profit. 1407 01:14:20,206 --> 01:14:21,082 - Volume. 1408 01:14:21,249 --> 01:14:23,209 - It's what America wants. 1409 01:14:26,671 --> 01:14:27,922 - Things became so tense 1410 01:14:28,089 --> 01:14:29,841 that Norton Simon brought in consultants 1411 01:14:30,008 --> 01:14:34,053 to fix the relationship. 1412 01:14:39,100 --> 01:14:40,518 - When I got involved in it and everything, 1413 01:14:40,685 --> 01:14:43,354 I thought, oh, boy, we're really in for it, Billie. 1414 01:14:43,521 --> 01:14:45,773 I mean, shit, this is a mother lode. 1415 01:14:45,940 --> 01:14:48,401 These people really need help. 1416 01:14:48,568 --> 01:14:50,486 Some sketches they couldn't read. 1417 01:14:50,653 --> 01:14:53,114 Fabrics they didn't know anything about. 1418 01:14:53,281 --> 01:14:54,782 Everybody would pat me on the head and say, 1419 01:14:54,949 --> 01:14:57,785 "Oh, listen, just leave it to us, we'll work it out. 1420 01:14:57,952 --> 01:14:59,162 "You just be artistical." 1421 01:14:59,329 --> 01:15:00,747 (woman laughing) 1422 01:15:00,914 --> 01:15:03,124 Well, no, no way. 1423 01:15:03,291 --> 01:15:05,710 The only way it'll work, let me tell you, listen to daddy. 1424 01:15:05,877 --> 01:15:07,086 - Yes, I'm listening. 1425 01:15:07,253 --> 01:15:08,129 - The only way it'll work is 1426 01:15:08,296 --> 01:15:09,589 to make the goddamn dress, 1427 01:15:09,756 --> 01:15:11,174 which, we're making the goddamn dress. 1428 01:15:11,341 --> 01:15:13,009 And then they go and look at the goddamn dress, 1429 01:15:13,176 --> 01:15:14,761 they'll see the point of difference. 1430 01:15:14,928 --> 01:15:16,304 I'm just trying to make it work. 1431 01:15:16,471 --> 01:15:17,722 - I know that. 1432 01:15:17,889 --> 01:15:20,058 I know that, it was-- - Desperately. 1433 01:15:23,770 --> 01:15:25,355 - All the plants, he's got to understand 1434 01:15:25,521 --> 01:15:27,565 that we've got to commit, like, eight months in advance. 1435 01:15:27,732 --> 01:15:29,275 We need to get the approvals and the go-aheads 1436 01:15:29,442 --> 01:15:30,610 and the concepts. 1437 01:15:30,777 --> 01:15:32,528 But he's so involved with everything, 1438 01:15:32,695 --> 01:15:34,280 that everything take, 1439 01:15:34,447 --> 01:15:37,450 on the label, the label took him months. 1440 01:15:37,617 --> 01:15:40,954 (vibrant electronic music) 1441 01:15:42,372 --> 01:15:45,166 - America has heard about it. 1442 01:15:45,333 --> 01:15:48,044 And we've all dreamt about it. 1443 01:15:48,211 --> 01:15:52,006 And now, after months of anticipation, it's here. 1444 01:15:53,925 --> 01:15:56,678 The Halston III Collection for 1983. 1445 01:15:59,681 --> 01:16:01,391 - This is an experiment, you know? 1446 01:16:01,557 --> 01:16:03,977 And it could succeed, it could not succeed. 1447 01:16:04,143 --> 01:16:06,771 (exciting music) 1448 01:16:11,484 --> 01:16:12,902 - Quite a show. 1449 01:16:13,069 --> 01:16:16,364 500 of the fashionables sat in a huge room, 1450 01:16:16,531 --> 01:16:20,326 dominated by a 60-foot whale hanging down from the ceiling. 1451 01:16:20,493 --> 01:16:24,247 People didn't know where to cry bravo or thar she blows. 1452 01:16:24,414 --> 01:16:28,293 - This has been probably the most challenging and gratifying 1453 01:16:28,459 --> 01:16:30,712 fashion exercise in my career. 1454 01:16:33,464 --> 01:16:36,301 - He did really give a lot to it. 1455 01:16:36,467 --> 01:16:38,261 I mean, he was really taking it seriously. 1456 01:16:38,428 --> 01:16:41,139 He did a really well-conceived line. 1457 01:16:42,682 --> 01:16:45,518 - Gosh, we had about 26 models in there. 1458 01:16:45,685 --> 01:16:46,853 The clothes looked spectacular. 1459 01:16:47,020 --> 01:16:48,604 It was perfect for that audience. 1460 01:16:48,771 --> 01:16:52,608 And everybody looked fabulous, and very good reviews. 1461 01:16:52,775 --> 01:16:56,154 And the show was very successful, very. 1462 01:16:56,321 --> 01:16:58,823 (audience applauding) 1463 01:16:58,990 --> 01:17:00,241 - I'm telling him how great his show was. 1464 01:17:00,408 --> 01:17:01,617 And I knew he was behind it. 1465 01:17:01,784 --> 01:17:03,202 - I love your board of directors, 1466 01:17:03,369 --> 01:17:05,663 wanting to go out and buy it right away. (laughing) 1467 01:17:05,830 --> 01:17:07,165 That's great. 1468 01:17:07,332 --> 01:17:08,458 - Well, we'll have a lot more great showings. 1469 01:17:08,624 --> 01:17:09,625 - You know, I think so. 1470 01:17:09,792 --> 01:17:10,960 - It's the first of many to come. 1471 01:17:11,127 --> 01:17:12,170 - No, I'm very proud of it. 1472 01:17:12,337 --> 01:17:13,129 It's wonderful, a wonderful thing. 1473 01:17:13,296 --> 01:17:18,217 (audience applauding) 1474 01:17:23,306 --> 01:17:24,557 - They had a big flag out at the museum 1475 01:17:24,724 --> 01:17:26,434 when they had the show. 1476 01:17:26,601 --> 01:17:29,354 And Ira Neimark, who was the President of Bergdorf-Goodman, 1477 01:17:29,520 --> 01:17:31,397 and Jackie, his wife, were coming home from dinner, 1478 01:17:31,564 --> 01:17:33,483 and they saw this Halston flag. 1479 01:17:33,649 --> 01:17:35,568 He called his senior merchandising 1480 01:17:35,735 --> 01:17:36,903 manager that night 1481 01:17:37,070 --> 01:17:41,074 at home, and she called me at home 1482 01:17:42,033 --> 01:17:45,036 and said he wants everything out of the store. 1483 01:17:45,203 --> 01:17:46,537 The fragrance, the ready-to-wear, everything. 1484 01:17:46,704 --> 01:17:48,581 He doesn't want anything to do with Halston. 1485 01:17:48,748 --> 01:17:51,125 (ominous music) 1486 01:17:52,794 --> 01:17:54,712 - Didn't you run into some trouble with Bergdorf, 1487 01:17:54,879 --> 01:17:55,713 who was the first place you had a boutique? 1488 01:17:55,880 --> 01:17:57,215 - Oh, not at all. 1489 01:17:57,382 --> 01:17:58,883 No, I don't think so. 1490 01:17:59,050 --> 01:18:00,593 You know, Bergdorf, you know, I wish them well. 1491 01:18:00,760 --> 01:18:02,512 I started my career at Bergdorf 1492 01:18:02,678 --> 01:18:04,514 and helped to make Bergdorf famous. 1493 01:18:04,680 --> 01:18:06,099 But Bergdorf is a rather small account 1494 01:18:06,265 --> 01:18:09,143 compared to all America. 1495 01:18:09,310 --> 01:18:10,645 - He was very upset. 1496 01:18:10,812 --> 01:18:12,397 He didn't understand it. 1497 01:18:12,563 --> 01:18:15,441 Also, shocked over the fact that 1498 01:18:15,608 --> 01:18:17,110 that could happen that quickly. 1499 01:18:17,276 --> 01:18:18,653 - Did Bergdorf-Goodman drop your line 1500 01:18:18,820 --> 01:18:21,406 because you went to Penney's? 1501 01:18:21,572 --> 01:18:23,449 - They, I think, felt threatened. 1502 01:18:23,616 --> 01:18:25,993 But I think there's a way out of it. 1503 01:18:26,160 --> 01:18:28,371 - Your connection to Bergdorf is a very important, 1504 01:18:28,538 --> 01:18:29,455 in terms of, wasn't that the first to give you-- 1505 01:18:29,622 --> 01:18:31,457 - I helped to make Bergdorf. 1506 01:18:31,624 --> 01:18:33,042 - He stepped out of the norm. 1507 01:18:33,209 --> 01:18:37,213 And people like their boundaries 1508 01:18:37,380 --> 01:18:40,800 that are set between them and those. 1509 01:18:40,967 --> 01:18:43,511 - The fancy-shmancy guys are saying 1510 01:18:43,678 --> 01:18:47,598 that undermines your elegant, chic hoi polloi. 1511 01:18:47,765 --> 01:18:48,933 - Oh, it doesn't. 1512 01:18:49,100 --> 01:18:50,601 My business is very good. 1513 01:18:50,768 --> 01:18:52,353 You know, if one store more or less doesn't like it, 1514 01:18:52,520 --> 01:18:54,647 I mean, you know, I'm sorry. 1515 01:18:54,814 --> 01:18:56,774 - Yeah, but you can't-- - I tried my best. 1516 01:18:56,941 --> 01:18:59,235 - And then I started getting all kinds of calls 1517 01:18:59,402 --> 01:19:02,488 from presidents of the stores all over the United States, 1518 01:19:02,655 --> 01:19:06,534 and merchandising managers, cutting back on orders. 1519 01:19:09,203 --> 01:19:11,289 It was pure hell after that. 1520 01:19:11,456 --> 01:19:14,876 He realized that he had done the wrong thing. 1521 01:19:16,961 --> 01:19:19,881 - You know, the press could be mean. 1522 01:19:20,047 --> 01:19:22,133 They were not supporting him. 1523 01:19:22,300 --> 01:19:23,968 That seemed odd to me. 1524 01:19:25,261 --> 01:19:27,847 It just seemed like a gang. 1525 01:19:28,014 --> 01:19:29,515 One person misbehaves, 1526 01:19:29,682 --> 01:19:33,186 and then everybody's bullying this one person. 1527 01:19:35,563 --> 01:19:38,858 - Clearly, the purpose was to strengthen Penney's position 1528 01:19:39,025 --> 01:19:41,819 as a supplier of fashionable merchandise. 1529 01:19:41,986 --> 01:19:43,446 - Good. 1530 01:19:43,613 --> 01:19:45,072 - Okay, fine, that's a diplomatic answer. 1531 01:19:45,239 --> 01:19:46,157 - I guess you got what you need. 1532 01:19:46,324 --> 01:19:47,325 - Oh, absolutely. 1533 01:19:47,492 --> 01:19:48,784 - You can cut out and chop away 1534 01:19:48,951 --> 01:19:50,703 and do what you need, okay. - Oh, no-- 1535 01:19:52,246 --> 01:19:55,666 - The JCPenney thing became so enormous a problem, 1536 01:19:55,833 --> 01:19:59,378 that the distance between us became too great. 1537 01:20:00,630 --> 01:20:02,507 He wanted me to leave, 1538 01:20:02,673 --> 01:20:04,383 but he didn't want to say he wanted me to leave. 1539 01:20:04,550 --> 01:20:08,804 He wanted to make things so unpleasant that I would leave. 1540 01:20:10,181 --> 01:20:12,642 I pushed him too hard. 1541 01:20:12,808 --> 01:20:15,728 I pushed too many licenses down on him. 1542 01:20:18,147 --> 01:20:20,733 (dramatic music) 1543 01:20:23,736 --> 01:20:27,156 - Things got out of control, and I started not to feel well. 1544 01:20:27,323 --> 01:20:29,700 So I went to the doctor, and he said, 1545 01:20:29,867 --> 01:20:32,036 "You have the beginning of an ulcer." 1546 01:20:32,203 --> 01:20:36,374 And it was from the stress. 1547 01:20:41,420 --> 01:20:45,049 I just got to the point where I couldn't deal with it. 1548 01:20:45,216 --> 01:20:46,551 And had to leave. 1549 01:20:46,717 --> 01:20:47,927 I hated to leave. 1550 01:20:48,094 --> 01:20:52,974 I loved Halston, but I had to get out. 1551 01:20:58,020 --> 01:21:00,690 - I saw him frustrated, and like, 1552 01:21:00,856 --> 01:21:04,485 "How can this thing come into my life?" 1553 01:21:04,652 --> 01:21:08,281 And I said, well, maybe you have to drop the whole thing 1554 01:21:08,447 --> 01:21:12,118 and come with me, and get outta here. 1555 01:21:12,285 --> 01:21:15,538 We'll just get a boat, you'll take a break. 1556 01:21:17,582 --> 01:21:23,462 And he'd say, "I can't go." (sniffles) 1557 01:21:28,593 --> 01:21:31,178 - They say that when it rains, it pours. 1558 01:21:31,345 --> 01:21:33,889 Well, a perfect storm was about to happen 1559 01:21:34,056 --> 01:21:36,183 when his good friend David Mahoney 1560 01:21:36,350 --> 01:21:38,686 threw him into the belly of the whale. 1561 01:21:38,853 --> 01:21:42,565 (audio screeching) 1562 01:21:42,732 --> 01:21:45,067 - The day before the JCPenney show, 1563 01:21:45,234 --> 01:21:47,903 David made an offer to buy Norton Simon. 1564 01:21:48,070 --> 01:21:50,239 (gentle instrumental music) 1565 01:21:50,406 --> 01:21:52,450 He was gonna take it private, 1566 01:21:52,617 --> 01:21:56,037 and he could make an awful lot of money doing that. 1567 01:21:56,203 --> 01:21:57,788 - Takeover mania in America. 1568 01:21:57,955 --> 01:22:00,041 Huge corporations are gobbling one another 1569 01:22:00,207 --> 01:22:02,501 at a rate unmatched in history. 1570 01:22:02,668 --> 01:22:04,545 - But Esmark came along out of the blue. 1571 01:22:04,712 --> 01:22:06,213 (bell ringing) 1572 01:22:06,380 --> 01:22:08,466 They made an outside bid that was better than David's 1573 01:22:08,633 --> 01:22:10,009 and won the battle. 1574 01:22:13,888 --> 01:22:15,139 - I don't know how Halston felt, 1575 01:22:15,306 --> 01:22:17,224 because after Norton Simon sold him, 1576 01:22:17,391 --> 01:22:19,810 David Mahoney was, you know, not there. 1577 01:22:19,977 --> 01:22:22,396 - You cannot expect other people 1578 01:22:22,563 --> 01:22:24,649 to be interested in your welfare all the time. 1579 01:22:24,815 --> 01:22:27,026 It's unfair, and it's illogical. 1580 01:22:27,193 --> 01:22:28,819 So therefore, you'd better take care of your own instincts 1581 01:22:28,986 --> 01:22:30,196 and your own efforts. 1582 01:22:30,363 --> 01:22:31,489 - Dog eat dog, look out for yourself, 1583 01:22:31,656 --> 01:22:33,324 or is that what you mean? 1584 01:22:33,491 --> 01:22:34,617 - Well, no, I really don't mean that, 1585 01:22:34,784 --> 01:22:37,078 although that's part of it, Jane. 1586 01:22:37,244 --> 01:22:38,663 - You know how business is. 1587 01:22:38,829 --> 01:22:40,998 You know how money is, you know how that is. 1588 01:22:41,165 --> 01:22:43,376 It's the pollution in the air. 1589 01:22:45,086 --> 01:22:48,381 - Esmark wasn't really in the fashion business. 1590 01:22:48,547 --> 01:22:50,174 Except for maybe. 1591 01:22:50,341 --> 01:22:53,135 - Feeling smashing, or the height of fashion? 1592 01:22:53,302 --> 01:22:55,388 Playtex once and you'll Playtex for keeps. 1593 01:22:55,554 --> 01:22:57,098 For comfort to please you. 1594 01:22:57,264 --> 01:23:00,267 - So Halston was put under Joel Smilow, 1595 01:23:00,434 --> 01:23:02,019 one of America's toughest bosses, 1596 01:23:02,186 --> 01:23:04,522 according to Fortune Magazine. 1597 01:23:04,689 --> 01:23:06,982 - This is a little teeny company. 1598 01:23:07,149 --> 01:23:09,318 You know, sort of a flyspeck. 1599 01:23:09,485 --> 01:23:11,362 And so, think of it, 1600 01:23:11,529 --> 01:23:15,408 if supposing you owned the New York Yankees, 1601 01:23:15,574 --> 01:23:18,577 and you also owned a class D farm's team 1602 01:23:20,246 --> 01:23:22,748 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. 1603 01:23:22,915 --> 01:23:24,333 How much time would you spend 1604 01:23:24,500 --> 01:23:26,585 with your Bethlehem, Pennsylvania farm team? 1605 01:23:26,752 --> 01:23:31,757 (jazz noir music) 1606 01:23:36,762 --> 01:23:40,933 - In 1983, my uncle asked me to come to dinner 1607 01:23:41,100 --> 01:23:42,727 while I was here. 1608 01:23:42,893 --> 01:23:46,313 I had recently graduated from college. 1609 01:23:46,480 --> 01:23:48,065 I was very green. 1610 01:23:48,232 --> 01:23:49,900 And he dropped the bomb on me. 1611 01:23:50,067 --> 01:23:52,695 He said, "Well, would you like to work for me?" 1612 01:23:52,862 --> 01:23:56,741 And I just sort of did a somersault and said, 1613 01:23:56,907 --> 01:23:58,075 okay, I would love to work for you. 1614 01:23:58,242 --> 01:23:59,452 When do I start? 1615 01:24:02,121 --> 01:24:04,498 I think maybe he wanted to bring in a family member 1616 01:24:04,665 --> 01:24:06,667 who he could trust 100%. 1617 01:24:08,419 --> 01:24:10,629 There was a new manager there from Esmark 1618 01:24:10,796 --> 01:24:12,298 who had just come on. 1619 01:24:13,466 --> 01:24:16,844 Do I have to say his name? (chuckles) 1620 01:24:17,011 --> 01:24:17,511 - You don't wanna say his name? 1621 01:24:17,678 --> 01:24:18,429 - No. 1622 01:24:18,596 --> 01:24:21,390 (jazz noir music) 1623 01:24:45,623 --> 01:24:49,585 - My first day at Halston was interesting. 1624 01:24:49,752 --> 01:24:52,588 I never seen anything quite like it. 1625 01:24:52,755 --> 01:24:55,382 Here, I'm the kid from Brooklyn, right? 1626 01:24:55,549 --> 01:24:59,178 Yet got into this world of Halston's 1627 01:24:59,345 --> 01:25:01,514 castle, Olympic Tower. 1628 01:25:08,687 --> 01:25:10,064 Look, Ma, I'm on television. 1629 01:25:10,231 --> 01:25:11,941 - It's about time. 1630 01:25:12,107 --> 01:25:16,070 - There was a kind of a pinkie throw, everywhere you went. 1631 01:25:18,322 --> 01:25:22,326 Halston was a little bit Hollywood, in my parlance. 1632 01:25:23,828 --> 01:25:26,288 But I thought we hit it off. 1633 01:25:26,455 --> 01:25:29,250 (guests chattering) 1634 01:25:32,753 --> 01:25:35,548 - You'd never think Carl ever be with Halston. 1635 01:25:35,714 --> 01:25:39,176 I mean, physically, mentally, anything. 1636 01:25:39,343 --> 01:25:42,972 But when Carl came in, in a very strange way, 1637 01:25:43,138 --> 01:25:45,641 Halston liked him a lot. 1638 01:25:45,808 --> 01:25:47,184 - He kept saying, 1639 01:25:47,351 --> 01:25:49,603 "I've never had the right kind of management. 1640 01:25:49,770 --> 01:25:51,981 "And that's part of our problem." 1641 01:25:52,147 --> 01:25:54,441 And he gives me a kiss on the forehead. 1642 01:25:54,608 --> 01:25:55,860 It was wonderful. 1643 01:25:56,026 --> 01:25:58,654 And then he says, "You're now the king." 1644 01:25:58,821 --> 01:26:01,448 And he made, with his own hands, 1645 01:26:01,615 --> 01:26:04,577 the crown that he gave me. 1646 01:26:04,743 --> 01:26:07,913 (jazz noir music) 1647 01:26:08,080 --> 01:26:10,583 - Halston, I think, honestly believed 1648 01:26:10,749 --> 01:26:15,087 that Carl Epstein was going to mediate with big business. 1649 01:26:17,423 --> 01:26:19,925 But I remember thinking to myself, 1650 01:26:20,092 --> 01:26:22,928 well, there are two men in this room. 1651 01:26:23,095 --> 01:26:26,849 But there's only one king at Halston Enterprises. 1652 01:26:30,227 --> 01:26:32,938 (speaking in foreign language) 1653 01:26:33,105 --> 01:26:36,358 - Voila. (chuckling) 1654 01:26:36,525 --> 01:26:38,360 I thought, hey, this is fun. 1655 01:26:38,527 --> 01:26:42,865 Clothes had to be made for me similar to what he wears. 1656 01:26:43,032 --> 01:26:46,243 Oh, my wife, my kids are getting all these clothes. 1657 01:26:46,410 --> 01:26:50,581 And then one day, he introduces me to Liza Minnelli. 1658 01:26:52,166 --> 01:26:54,710 I said, you know, this is, to hell with the business. 1659 01:26:54,877 --> 01:26:55,836 This is great. 1660 01:26:56,962 --> 01:27:00,132 You know, this is the way to live. 1661 01:27:00,299 --> 01:27:01,967 - We had budget meetings and, apparently, 1662 01:27:02,134 --> 01:27:03,385 theirs was a disaster. 1663 01:27:03,552 --> 01:27:06,805 Carl was not doing what we agreed to. 1664 01:27:06,972 --> 01:27:08,599 I'm at the top, 1665 01:27:08,766 --> 01:27:09,850 and I don't care what's happening in the engine room. 1666 01:27:10,017 --> 01:27:11,810 I know the engine isn't running. 1667 01:27:11,977 --> 01:27:13,854 And it wasn't. 1668 01:27:14,021 --> 01:27:15,522 Turn this into a brand. 1669 01:27:15,689 --> 01:27:17,816 Turn this into something we can handle, 1670 01:27:17,983 --> 01:27:20,277 and stop having it be this airy-fairy kind of, 1671 01:27:20,444 --> 01:27:22,780 I work when I want to, I'm not inspired, I'm an artist 1672 01:27:22,947 --> 01:27:24,698 kind of thing. 1673 01:27:24,865 --> 01:27:27,493 - I read all the personnel files, 1674 01:27:27,660 --> 01:27:29,745 and I had my rude awakening. 1675 01:27:29,912 --> 01:27:33,374 D. D. Ryan, I have to laugh. 1676 01:27:34,500 --> 01:27:38,045 Halston said, "Well, she's the resident geisha." 1677 01:27:40,965 --> 01:27:42,925 Bill Dugan was another one. 1678 01:27:43,092 --> 01:27:45,219 He said, "Well, he amuses me." 1679 01:27:46,303 --> 01:27:48,472 And then he had Victor Hugo. 1680 01:27:48,639 --> 01:27:51,350 I'll never forget once, he called me, frantic, 1681 01:27:51,517 --> 01:27:54,103 Victor Hugo was gonna kill him. 1682 01:27:54,269 --> 01:27:59,149 - Victor held the entire office captive for several hours. 1683 01:27:59,775 --> 01:28:01,902 He was kind of like a mad dog. 1684 01:28:02,069 --> 01:28:03,779 - Probably shocking to Carl, because I don't think Carl 1685 01:28:03,946 --> 01:28:06,198 was in the habit of taking drugs, period. 1686 01:28:06,365 --> 01:28:08,701 Except, you know, Pepto-Bismol. 1687 01:28:09,952 --> 01:28:12,413 - I just decided to duck out and go to the Top of the Sixes 1688 01:28:12,579 --> 01:28:15,582 and have some gin and tonics. 1689 01:28:15,749 --> 01:28:18,961 - It was a crazy never-never land. 1690 01:28:19,128 --> 01:28:22,172 Then, I checked all the expense stuff. 1691 01:28:22,339 --> 01:28:24,049 And that blew my mind. 1692 01:28:24,216 --> 01:28:25,467 The flowers. 1693 01:28:25,634 --> 01:28:28,053 (jazz noir music) 1694 01:28:28,220 --> 01:28:30,472 - Carl had me in to talk to me about 1695 01:28:30,639 --> 01:28:33,225 what was being spent on the flower budget. 1696 01:28:33,392 --> 01:28:35,102 And I said, 1697 01:28:35,269 --> 01:28:39,023 yes, I know what's being spent on the flower budget, Carl. 1698 01:28:39,189 --> 01:28:41,734 I'm writing up the bills myself. 1699 01:28:41,900 --> 01:28:43,610 - Esmark believed you could have plastic plants 1700 01:28:43,777 --> 01:28:45,696 instead of orchid plants. 1701 01:28:45,863 --> 01:28:46,864 They're plants. 1702 01:28:48,115 --> 01:28:50,242 - Entertainment, which was enormous. 1703 01:28:50,409 --> 01:28:52,411 The kitchen cost. 1704 01:28:52,578 --> 01:28:55,080 Example, they would prepare a meal for him 1705 01:28:55,247 --> 01:28:59,334 while he's in Montauk, and put it on a private plane, 1706 01:28:59,501 --> 01:29:03,589 fly it to Montauk, and deliver it to Halston's house. 1707 01:29:03,756 --> 01:29:06,341 And that was a company expense? 1708 01:29:06,508 --> 01:29:09,678 That meal must have cost $2,000. 1709 01:29:09,845 --> 01:29:14,183 - (laughing) It was '80s. 1710 01:29:14,349 --> 01:29:17,102 - Martha Graham was honored in Paris last night. 1711 01:29:17,269 --> 01:29:19,271 She was presented with the Cross of the Chevalier 1712 01:29:19,438 --> 01:29:21,065 of the Legion of Honor. 1713 01:29:21,231 --> 01:29:24,568 - The honeymoon ended when he was going to go to Paris 1714 01:29:24,735 --> 01:29:26,862 with Martha Graham. 1715 01:29:27,029 --> 01:29:29,990 He's gonna take his staff with him. 1716 01:29:30,157 --> 01:29:33,243 We calculated the cost of doing that. 1717 01:29:33,410 --> 01:29:36,872 And just the workroom, it was 125,000. 1718 01:29:37,039 --> 01:29:40,584 So I then told Halston, you can't do it. 1719 01:29:40,751 --> 01:29:42,628 Halston was so incensed. 1720 01:29:43,879 --> 01:29:46,048 "How dare you say no to me?" 1721 01:29:47,174 --> 01:29:48,884 It was like Jekyll and Hyde. 1722 01:29:49,051 --> 01:29:51,053 Suddenly Mr. Hyde came out. 1723 01:29:53,430 --> 01:29:55,724 From then on, I was the enemy. 1724 01:29:57,476 --> 01:30:01,105 - Carl, every morning, would put little sticky notes 1725 01:30:01,271 --> 01:30:04,983 on Halston's table about what had to happen today, 1726 01:30:05,150 --> 01:30:07,027 or what things were gonna be taken away. 1727 01:30:07,194 --> 01:30:09,822 And he didn't like it. 1728 01:30:09,988 --> 01:30:11,657 - We need to do this, we need to do that. 1729 01:30:11,824 --> 01:30:14,326 And it was just like, you're bossing him around? 1730 01:30:14,493 --> 01:30:16,620 Like, no one does that. 1731 01:30:16,787 --> 01:30:17,996 - It was a big struggle. 1732 01:30:18,163 --> 01:30:19,498 And it got worse and worse, 1733 01:30:19,665 --> 01:30:21,208 and he started coming in later and later 1734 01:30:21,375 --> 01:30:27,339 so he wouldn't have to deal with seeing those people. 1735 01:30:32,469 --> 01:30:35,180 - Be careful, it's a little dark here, hold on. 1736 01:30:44,481 --> 01:30:46,984 History is filled with wars. 1737 01:30:47,151 --> 01:30:49,153 But you have to understand the difference 1738 01:30:49,319 --> 01:30:51,530 between strategy and tactics. 1739 01:30:52,739 --> 01:30:54,783 Strategy is the art of war. 1740 01:30:56,243 --> 01:30:58,412 Tactics is the art of battle. 1741 01:31:00,455 --> 01:31:04,042 The only real battle you must never lose is the last one. 1742 01:31:04,209 --> 01:31:06,712 (ominous music) 1743 01:31:11,008 --> 01:31:14,052 - There was rumor that a junior designer was coming in 1744 01:31:14,219 --> 01:31:18,098 to help with the JCPenney, and just huge workload. 1745 01:31:21,018 --> 01:31:23,729 - In the middle of February, picked up the phone, 1746 01:31:23,896 --> 01:31:28,108 and this very deep voice said, "John Ridge, this is Halston." 1747 01:31:28,275 --> 01:31:30,861 And he said, "Can you come see me?" 1748 01:31:31,028 --> 01:31:32,571 So of course, I did. 1749 01:31:32,738 --> 01:31:36,491 And it turned out that it wasn't really an interview. 1750 01:31:36,658 --> 01:31:39,870 It was, "When can you start?" 1751 01:31:40,037 --> 01:31:42,831 And I think he just needed to know there was one head, 1752 01:31:42,998 --> 01:31:46,376 two arms, and that I knew who Charles James was. 1753 01:32:04,394 --> 01:32:06,521 - Probably after a month, I went to Carl and said, 1754 01:32:06,688 --> 01:32:10,067 I'm leaving, this is just an impossible situation. 1755 01:32:10,234 --> 01:32:11,360 We were there until eight, nine. 1756 01:32:11,526 --> 01:32:13,779 We never knew when we were leaving. 1757 01:32:13,946 --> 01:32:17,741 I can't be responsible for what the workroom cost. 1758 01:32:17,908 --> 01:32:19,576 And Carl said to me, 1759 01:32:19,743 --> 01:32:22,913 "Don't leave, things are going to change." 1760 01:32:23,080 --> 01:32:25,749 (jazz noir music) 1761 01:32:27,376 --> 01:32:30,087 - There was something called the Werner Report. 1762 01:32:30,254 --> 01:32:33,465 But it was so hush hush, I didn't see it 1763 01:32:33,632 --> 01:32:37,469 until probably seven or eight months after I was there. 1764 01:32:37,636 --> 01:32:38,971 When I read it, 1765 01:32:39,137 --> 01:32:41,974 it dawned on me that everything was tactical. 1766 01:32:42,140 --> 01:32:44,226 They were gonna solve their problem 1767 01:32:44,393 --> 01:32:46,395 by how we train the staff, 1768 01:32:46,561 --> 01:32:50,023 how we make the staff unafraid of Halston. 1769 01:32:50,190 --> 01:32:54,778 How they would learn to cope with Halston and his tirades. 1770 01:32:55,195 --> 01:32:56,989 Mahoney's attitude was, 1771 01:32:57,155 --> 01:33:00,784 we are not gonna try to control Halston. 1772 01:33:00,951 --> 01:33:04,037 My strategy was going back to square one. 1773 01:33:05,455 --> 01:33:08,583 Sometimes the kindest thing in the world you can do is 1774 01:33:08,750 --> 01:33:10,168 to say no to somebody. 1775 01:33:11,628 --> 01:33:14,423 He started coming in at four o'clock in the afternoon, 1776 01:33:14,589 --> 01:33:16,758 and he wants the workroom to wait for him 1777 01:33:16,925 --> 01:33:18,635 to come in at that time. 1778 01:33:18,802 --> 01:33:21,763 I told him, it's not gonna happen. 1779 01:33:21,930 --> 01:33:26,226 They're gonna leave at five o'clock, period, done, over. 1780 01:33:28,145 --> 01:33:30,147 In the final analysis, 1781 01:33:30,314 --> 01:33:33,358 he is like me and everybody else in that place, 1782 01:33:33,525 --> 01:33:35,068 an employee. 1783 01:33:35,235 --> 01:33:36,695 - Carl was answerable. 1784 01:33:36,862 --> 01:33:39,698 And, you know, it's all about the bottom line. 1785 01:33:39,865 --> 01:33:41,575 - That's right, we knew that. 1786 01:33:41,742 --> 01:33:46,163 - I suppose he was there to just slowly push Halston out. 1787 01:33:46,330 --> 01:33:47,581 They had the brand. 1788 01:33:47,748 --> 01:33:50,584 Halston was the diva designer 1789 01:33:50,751 --> 01:33:54,379 that they didn't necessarily need anymore. 1790 01:33:54,546 --> 01:33:57,424 Halston started taking legal counsel. 1791 01:34:00,052 --> 01:34:03,221 - When I first met him, he was quite distraught. 1792 01:34:03,388 --> 01:34:05,349 He was so frustrated and so angry 1793 01:34:05,515 --> 01:34:09,561 he had trouble completing sentences and thoughts. 1794 01:34:09,728 --> 01:34:11,355 Suddenly he was cast adrift. 1795 01:34:11,521 --> 01:34:13,190 Well, I guess I can best put it the way Halston put it, 1796 01:34:13,357 --> 01:34:16,610 that the folks from Planet Tampon landed 1797 01:34:16,777 --> 01:34:17,903 on Planet Halston. 1798 01:34:18,070 --> 01:34:20,781 (dramatic music) 1799 01:34:20,947 --> 01:34:22,032 - I'm going to pass this back and forth 1800 01:34:22,199 --> 01:34:23,575 like this. - Okay, all right. 1801 01:34:23,742 --> 01:34:24,659 - You don't have to worry about. 1802 01:34:24,826 --> 01:34:26,411 - I saw him tired at times. 1803 01:34:26,578 --> 01:34:28,872 I thought he was really tired. 1804 01:34:30,040 --> 01:34:32,084 - One time I came in, 1805 01:34:32,250 --> 01:34:35,670 and I think he might have had a panic session. 1806 01:34:38,006 --> 01:34:39,633 He just seemed very stressed. 1807 01:34:39,800 --> 01:34:40,759 And I said, can I do anything? 1808 01:34:40,926 --> 01:34:42,844 He said, "No, just sit here. 1809 01:34:43,011 --> 01:34:44,262 "Just sit here." 1810 01:34:44,429 --> 01:34:47,432 And we sat there for, like, 30 minutes. 1811 01:34:47,599 --> 01:34:50,268 Wow, that's new. 1812 01:34:51,770 --> 01:34:56,274 - Halston never asked me what I thought of his collection. 1813 01:35:01,238 --> 01:35:04,825 This time, he asked me what I thought of his collection. 1814 01:35:04,991 --> 01:35:07,285 And, honestly, it was like someone had punched me 1815 01:35:07,452 --> 01:35:12,082 in my stomach, because I knew that he was feeling 1816 01:35:12,249 --> 01:35:14,209 not as strong as he had been. 1817 01:35:14,376 --> 01:35:15,961 And it made me sad. 1818 01:35:18,588 --> 01:35:20,298 - If you lived in another epoch 1819 01:35:20,465 --> 01:35:23,593 in another time in another city, could you pick it for me? 1820 01:35:23,760 --> 01:35:24,428 - Oh, no way. 1821 01:35:24,594 --> 01:35:25,804 I like right now. 1822 01:35:25,971 --> 01:35:27,139 And tomorrow's going to be better, 1823 01:35:27,305 --> 01:35:28,807 and next week is going to be better. 1824 01:35:28,974 --> 01:35:30,767 No, no, no, I'm the all-time optimist. 1825 01:35:30,934 --> 01:35:33,061 No, I like right now. 1826 01:35:33,228 --> 01:35:35,605 - The problem was simply drugs. 1827 01:35:37,941 --> 01:35:40,193 He had gone way too far. 1828 01:35:40,360 --> 01:35:42,320 - I don't do tuxedos. 1829 01:35:42,487 --> 01:35:44,281 - He was out of control. 1830 01:35:45,824 --> 01:35:50,829 Out of control was symmetrical with Esmark taking over. 1831 01:35:50,996 --> 01:35:53,874 So you tell me which is the chicken and which is the egg. 1832 01:35:54,040 --> 01:35:56,793 - Some time in that spring, Liza went to Betty Ford. 1833 01:35:56,960 --> 01:36:00,714 And Halston said, "It's great that things like this exist 1834 01:36:00,881 --> 01:36:02,007 "for those who need them. 1835 01:36:02,174 --> 01:36:03,425 "Of course, the rest of us 1836 01:36:03,592 --> 01:36:05,760 "have to get on and earn a living." 1837 01:36:07,471 --> 01:36:11,641 - Very hard to do an interview about your best friend, 1838 01:36:13,059 --> 01:36:15,896 especially if what's popular in that day and age 1839 01:36:16,062 --> 01:36:17,689 is digging a little. 1840 01:36:17,856 --> 01:36:19,191 I don't like it. 1841 01:36:19,357 --> 01:36:21,026 I hated it when they did it to my mother 1842 01:36:21,193 --> 01:36:23,028 or my father or myself. 1843 01:36:23,195 --> 01:36:26,698 And I won't do it to Halston, I just won't. 1844 01:36:26,865 --> 01:36:28,658 I refuse. 1845 01:36:33,622 --> 01:36:37,292 (audience applauding) 1846 01:36:37,459 --> 01:36:40,795 - In June, he had summer to do for JCPenney, 1847 01:36:42,255 --> 01:36:45,383 Which was way late at that point. 1848 01:36:45,550 --> 01:36:47,511 - Halston cooled off. 1849 01:36:47,677 --> 01:36:50,055 He don't want do JCPenney anymore. 1850 01:36:50,222 --> 01:36:51,556 I don't know why, 1851 01:36:51,723 --> 01:36:53,683 but that's when everything went upside-down. 1852 01:36:53,850 --> 01:36:56,436 (dramatic music) 1853 01:36:57,646 --> 01:36:59,147 - I think he thought that if he went on strike 1854 01:36:59,314 --> 01:37:02,067 and didn't design the collections 1855 01:37:02,234 --> 01:37:06,238 that he had some power over the situation, you know. 1856 01:37:07,405 --> 01:37:09,074 - I'm getting calls from JCPenney saying, 1857 01:37:09,241 --> 01:37:10,909 "Where are our products? 1858 01:37:11,076 --> 01:37:12,452 "Where are the designs? 1859 01:37:12,619 --> 01:37:14,829 "He hasn't approved them." 1860 01:37:14,996 --> 01:37:18,041 And whether he was doing that to get revenge on Carl, 1861 01:37:18,208 --> 01:37:20,001 or whether he was doing it because he was doped up, 1862 01:37:20,168 --> 01:37:21,795 it wasn't happening. 1863 01:37:21,962 --> 01:37:23,380 - They were very frustrated 1864 01:37:23,547 --> 01:37:27,217 because they couldn't get sketches from Halston. 1865 01:37:27,384 --> 01:37:28,885 So one day, I drew them a jacket 1866 01:37:29,052 --> 01:37:30,387 'cause they had to have a jacket, 1867 01:37:30,554 --> 01:37:31,680 and Halston wasn't there, 1868 01:37:31,846 --> 01:37:35,433 and I, well, he was not too happy 1869 01:37:35,600 --> 01:37:37,811 that I'd given them a sketch. 1870 01:37:39,646 --> 01:37:43,108 But Penney's was very happy about it. 1871 01:37:43,275 --> 01:37:45,652 And I think that they went away viewing me as a source 1872 01:37:45,819 --> 01:37:49,656 that they could turn to and get something. 1873 01:37:49,823 --> 01:37:51,866 And that was kind of the beginning 1874 01:37:52,033 --> 01:37:55,203 of my personal relationship with Penney's. 1875 01:37:56,496 --> 01:37:57,664 - It is inappropriate 1876 01:37:57,831 --> 01:37:59,583 to have John Ridge involved in areas 1877 01:37:59,749 --> 01:38:02,043 which do not fall under his responsibilities, 1878 01:38:02,210 --> 01:38:03,878 signed Halston. 1879 01:38:04,045 --> 01:38:06,423 To John Ridge from Carl Epstein. 1880 01:38:06,590 --> 01:38:08,800 Please keep up the good work. 1881 01:38:10,010 --> 01:38:13,221 - Carl was hell-bent on isolating Halston. 1882 01:38:14,472 --> 01:38:16,850 Halston felt that he could no longer work with Carl. 1883 01:38:17,017 --> 01:38:19,519 All he was good at was destroying. 1884 01:38:21,229 --> 01:38:22,522 We decided the best thing for Halston 1885 01:38:22,689 --> 01:38:24,232 would be to go to Montauk 1886 01:38:24,399 --> 01:38:28,361 and give everybody a chance to take a deep breath. 1887 01:38:28,528 --> 01:38:31,448 We thought that there would be a deep breath taken also 1888 01:38:31,615 --> 01:38:33,825 on the part of the Esmark people. 1889 01:38:33,992 --> 01:38:35,619 Turned out not to be the case. 1890 01:38:35,785 --> 01:38:37,746 (jazz noir music) 1891 01:38:37,912 --> 01:38:40,582 - Carl started cleaning house. 1892 01:38:40,749 --> 01:38:44,002 D. D. Ryan, Bill Dugan. 1893 01:38:44,169 --> 01:38:46,254 - I was fired. 1894 01:38:46,421 --> 01:38:48,590 - May I have your attention, please? 1895 01:38:48,757 --> 01:38:50,008 - They couldn't touch me 1896 01:38:50,175 --> 01:38:52,052 because he still had an office there 1897 01:38:52,218 --> 01:38:54,888 and I was still his secretary. 1898 01:38:55,055 --> 01:38:57,515 I remember him calling me. 1899 01:38:57,682 --> 01:39:00,810 Carl held a meeting in front of all the employees 1900 01:39:00,977 --> 01:39:03,063 at Halston Enterprises. 1901 01:39:03,229 --> 01:39:07,067 He said that it would no longer be a one-man show. 1902 01:39:08,318 --> 01:39:09,819 John David Ridge was promoted 1903 01:39:09,986 --> 01:39:12,739 and would be in charge of the design. 1904 01:39:14,282 --> 01:39:15,742 He is livid. 1905 01:39:15,909 --> 01:39:16,993 "It's my name on the label. 1906 01:39:17,160 --> 01:39:18,745 "How dare you?" 1907 01:39:18,912 --> 01:39:20,872 - It was his company, his people, 1908 01:39:21,039 --> 01:39:23,458 his workers, everything. 1909 01:39:23,625 --> 01:39:25,085 So, we went back 1910 01:39:25,251 --> 01:39:29,881 and it unraveled into a very unpleasant scenario. 1911 01:39:30,048 --> 01:39:32,592 - It was like having two chefs in the kitchen. 1912 01:39:32,759 --> 01:39:35,845 Everybody was saying, well, let's divide 1913 01:39:36,012 --> 01:39:37,180 the space up there, 1914 01:39:37,347 --> 01:39:38,890 and this half is Halston 1915 01:39:39,057 --> 01:39:41,935 and this other half is Halston III with John Ridge. 1916 01:39:42,102 --> 01:39:44,062 - At some point, I said no. 1917 01:39:45,397 --> 01:39:48,608 No, you can get someone else to do it, but I'm not going. 1918 01:39:48,775 --> 01:39:52,904 I knew, at this point, I knew Halston pretty well, the man. 1919 01:39:53,071 --> 01:39:56,324 - There was a lot of angst going on. 1920 01:39:56,491 --> 01:39:59,160 And so, I had my first meeting with Roy. 1921 01:39:59,327 --> 01:40:01,037 "Yes, Bregman, what can I do for you?" 1922 01:40:01,204 --> 01:40:06,251 And I'd say, well, Roy, that was the beginning. (laughing) 1923 01:40:11,381 --> 01:40:13,091 He was talking about going into another business. 1924 01:40:13,258 --> 01:40:15,093 That's why I started calling him Roy. 1925 01:40:15,260 --> 01:40:17,345 I said, you don't own your name, pal. 1926 01:40:17,512 --> 01:40:18,388 Read the small print. 1927 01:40:18,555 --> 01:40:19,973 We own your name. 1928 01:40:20,140 --> 01:40:22,767 (dramatic music) 1929 01:40:24,436 --> 01:40:26,438 - This was all blowing up. 1930 01:40:27,647 --> 01:40:32,652 They said to me, "I want you to go in and talk to him." 1931 01:40:32,819 --> 01:40:34,571 I was there that morning, too, we were sitting, he and I, 1932 01:40:34,738 --> 01:40:38,032 in his office, till about one, 1:30 in the morning. 1933 01:40:38,199 --> 01:40:41,369 And he said to me, "We can do this." 1934 01:40:41,536 --> 01:40:43,663 I said, we can do what? 1935 01:40:43,830 --> 01:40:46,791 He said, "We can take this over 1936 01:40:46,958 --> 01:40:48,168 "and get it away from the corporation 1937 01:40:48,334 --> 01:40:49,544 "and run it as an." 1938 01:40:49,711 --> 01:40:52,005 I said, Halston, it would never work. 1939 01:40:52,172 --> 01:40:53,715 Where is this money gonna come from? 1940 01:40:53,882 --> 01:40:57,010 I said, do you know how much money you spend? 1941 01:40:57,177 --> 01:40:58,470 And how luxurious. 1942 01:40:59,721 --> 01:41:01,347 I said, just take a look around. 1943 01:41:01,514 --> 01:41:03,433 You've had the biggest and the best. 1944 01:41:03,600 --> 01:41:07,520 And this kind of money is not gonna be found again. 1945 01:41:11,983 --> 01:41:15,695 - They requested, and I put that in quotation marks, 1946 01:41:15,862 --> 01:41:18,656 that I not be present at the meeting. 1947 01:41:21,159 --> 01:41:22,494 I'm sitting in my office, 1948 01:41:22,660 --> 01:41:25,371 and I felt like having a cup of tea. 1949 01:41:25,538 --> 01:41:27,248 So I thought I'd go into the kitchen. 1950 01:41:27,415 --> 01:41:30,627 I go to the door, put my key in the lock, 1951 01:41:30,794 --> 01:41:32,170 key is not working. 1952 01:41:34,130 --> 01:41:35,715 I couldn't understand, why the key? 1953 01:41:35,882 --> 01:41:38,426 So I run around to the front door. 1954 01:41:39,719 --> 01:41:43,306 And there's a guy working on the door there, a locksmith. 1955 01:41:43,473 --> 01:41:45,308 He's changing the locks. 1956 01:41:46,601 --> 01:41:48,603 I said, who hired you? 1957 01:41:48,770 --> 01:41:49,729 - Mr. Halston. 1958 01:41:50,980 --> 01:41:58,530 - I stormed into that meeting, and I just blew my top. 1959 01:41:59,697 --> 01:42:02,200 Even his lawyer was shocked. 1960 01:42:02,367 --> 01:42:04,577 - (laughing) No, Halston didn't change the locks. 1961 01:42:04,744 --> 01:42:05,912 He was locked out. 1962 01:42:07,831 --> 01:42:10,208 Carl admitted he changed the locks. 1963 01:42:10,375 --> 01:42:12,085 - Job is done, Mr. Epstein. 1964 01:42:12,252 --> 01:42:13,753 - You actually admitted it. 1965 01:42:13,920 --> 01:42:15,588 - I admitted it? 1966 01:42:15,755 --> 01:42:18,758 - In Women's Wear Daily, several months later. 1967 01:42:18,925 --> 01:42:23,388 When there was a story about trouble at the Olympic Tower. 1968 01:42:25,932 --> 01:42:29,853 - I said, look, that's it, I've had it. 1969 01:42:30,019 --> 01:42:31,437 You know, I don't wanna have to think about 1970 01:42:31,604 --> 01:42:33,022 somebody changing the locks. 1971 01:42:33,189 --> 01:42:35,733 Either he goes or I go. 1972 01:42:40,780 --> 01:42:43,032 - When Epstein gave 'em the signal, they said, 1973 01:42:43,199 --> 01:42:45,577 "We're done, you're done." 1974 01:42:45,743 --> 01:42:49,455 And Halston was out. 1975 01:42:54,419 --> 01:42:56,129 - It was weird. 1976 01:42:56,296 --> 01:43:02,135 It was surreal that this coup d'etat happened so quickly. 1977 01:43:07,140 --> 01:43:10,351 - I was very heartbroken for him. 1978 01:43:10,518 --> 01:43:12,896 He was like a man without a country. 1979 01:43:13,062 --> 01:43:14,272 The Halston name, 1980 01:43:15,815 --> 01:43:18,610 that was the most important thing in his entire life, 1981 01:43:18,776 --> 01:43:23,031 could be used by that corporation 1982 01:43:23,197 --> 01:43:24,616 without his consent. 1983 01:43:24,782 --> 01:43:28,328 - Halston Enterprises and Organization MINE, 1984 01:43:28,494 --> 01:43:32,874 a symbolic signing of the licensing agreement for Mexico. 1985 01:43:34,959 --> 01:43:39,672 (speaking in foreign language) (vibrant music) 1986 01:43:41,299 --> 01:43:42,175 - Hola. 1987 01:43:42,342 --> 01:43:44,344 ♪ Halston ♪ 1988 01:43:45,386 --> 01:43:47,805 (dramatic music) 1989 01:44:00,443 --> 01:44:02,278 - Week after week, month after month, 1990 01:44:02,445 --> 01:44:06,324 he realized that he didn't have much clout anymore 1991 01:44:06,491 --> 01:44:07,784 with the company. 1992 01:44:10,620 --> 01:44:11,913 - When one comes in to make a company healthy, 1993 01:44:12,080 --> 01:44:15,458 it depends how you define health. 1994 01:44:15,625 --> 01:44:17,502 - People were suddenly at peace, 1995 01:44:17,669 --> 01:44:21,339 had comfortable jobs, were not being shouted at. 1996 01:44:22,924 --> 01:44:24,342 - We had not much to do. 1997 01:44:24,509 --> 01:44:25,969 No movie star. 1998 01:44:26,135 --> 01:44:27,512 No celebrity. 1999 01:44:27,679 --> 01:44:30,890 JCPenney, and that's it. 2000 01:44:31,307 --> 01:44:33,142 And not even, because at one point 2001 01:44:33,309 --> 01:44:35,186 they used to do everything in China. 2002 01:44:35,353 --> 01:44:37,563 We just would send the pattern, 2003 01:44:37,730 --> 01:44:40,692 and they used to make everything there. 2004 01:44:44,362 --> 01:44:45,738 - Carl told me one day 2005 01:44:45,905 --> 01:44:48,700 that he was gonna sell off all the samples. 2006 01:44:53,746 --> 01:44:58,001 - That was his record that should be in a museum, 2007 01:44:58,167 --> 01:45:01,671 and they decided to sell those important pieces 2008 01:45:01,838 --> 01:45:04,090 for 25 bucks, 50 bucks apiece. 2009 01:45:08,177 --> 01:45:09,303 - But it was just stuff sitting there, 2010 01:45:09,470 --> 01:45:11,848 year after year, doing nothing. 2011 01:45:15,977 --> 01:45:18,980 - Some pieces went here, some pieces went there. 2012 01:45:19,147 --> 01:45:25,236 But the mother lode of it is gone, eliminated, erased. 2013 01:45:26,070 --> 01:45:27,989 It was hostile. 2014 01:45:28,156 --> 01:45:30,158 - There was nothing personal about it. 2015 01:45:30,324 --> 01:45:32,285 If you want to call something personal, 2016 01:45:32,452 --> 01:45:33,828 I really didn't give a damn 2017 01:45:33,995 --> 01:45:36,497 what Halston's reaction would be. 2018 01:45:36,664 --> 01:45:38,374 We were beyond that. 2019 01:45:38,541 --> 01:45:41,419 - Why not give it to a museum? 2020 01:45:44,672 --> 01:45:45,882 - And then there was a bookcase 2021 01:45:46,049 --> 01:45:48,426 full of video tapes of the shows. 2022 01:45:48,593 --> 01:45:50,178 Said to Carl, well, I want these tapes. 2023 01:45:50,344 --> 01:45:52,388 He said, "No, Halston has copies." 2024 01:45:52,555 --> 01:45:54,057 (static crackling) (audio screeching) 2025 01:45:54,223 --> 01:45:55,850 (video beeping) - How do you do? 2026 01:45:56,017 --> 01:45:57,143 I'm Halston. 2027 01:45:57,310 --> 01:45:58,770 - Carl said he was gonna erase them 2028 01:45:58,936 --> 01:46:01,898 and sell the blanks to the next tenant. 2029 01:46:05,401 --> 01:46:07,278 (models cheering and laughing) 2030 01:46:07,445 --> 01:46:09,238 - Everyone thinks you're an overnight success. 2031 01:46:09,405 --> 01:46:12,033 I had worked very hard for 20 years. 2032 01:46:12,200 --> 01:46:13,076 This is. 2033 01:46:13,242 --> 01:46:16,120 ♪ Happy birthday to me ♪ 2034 01:46:17,997 --> 01:46:21,959 (video humming) (static crackling) 2035 01:46:22,126 --> 01:46:24,337 (audio screeching) 2036 01:46:24,504 --> 01:46:27,215 - There is no home in Iowa, you see. 2037 01:46:27,381 --> 01:46:32,136 (static hissing) 2038 01:46:48,194 --> 01:46:50,822 - I really wanted to show this photo. 2039 01:46:50,988 --> 01:46:55,451 So, my grandparents, this is Hallie Mae and James Edward. 2040 01:46:55,618 --> 01:46:57,495 (gentle guitar music) 2041 01:46:57,662 --> 01:46:59,247 They were working class. 2042 01:46:59,413 --> 01:47:04,085 My grandmother, I'm not sure, made it past ninth grade. 2043 01:47:04,252 --> 01:47:06,003 They had four children. 2044 01:47:07,922 --> 01:47:09,841 My father first. 2045 01:47:10,007 --> 01:47:13,719 And then Roy Halston Frowick came along in 1932. 2046 01:47:18,057 --> 01:47:19,142 You know, times were tough. 2047 01:47:19,308 --> 01:47:21,561 Grew up in the Depression era. 2048 01:47:24,188 --> 01:47:26,649 Halston and my father weren't close with their father. 2049 01:47:26,816 --> 01:47:29,527 They loved him, but he had a temper. 2050 01:47:32,280 --> 01:47:34,615 My grandmother took him under her wing 2051 01:47:34,782 --> 01:47:37,910 and was sort of protecting him. 2052 01:47:38,077 --> 01:47:42,456 She was a sweet, sweet, soft-spoken, very mellow woman, 2053 01:47:42,623 --> 01:47:46,669 and you just felt so calm around her. 2054 01:47:51,716 --> 01:47:54,760 When she passed away, Halston was in the middle of JCPenney, 2055 01:47:54,927 --> 01:47:56,929 but he didn't tell them anything. 2056 01:47:57,096 --> 01:47:59,265 He just said he had to leave. 2057 01:48:01,267 --> 01:48:02,894 He suffered silently. 2058 01:48:06,564 --> 01:48:10,067 Halston wasn't estranged from his family per se, 2059 01:48:10,234 --> 01:48:12,528 it's just that the family's very conservative. 2060 01:48:12,695 --> 01:48:16,490 He felt that they wouldn't understand his lifestyle 2061 01:48:16,657 --> 01:48:19,368 with Victor there, and although he was constantly trying 2062 01:48:19,535 --> 01:48:21,746 to get him out of his life, and I was there. 2063 01:48:21,913 --> 01:48:23,581 And eventually he did. 2064 01:48:25,917 --> 01:48:29,086 I kept trying to tell him to reconnect with his siblings, 2065 01:48:29,253 --> 01:48:31,255 telling him, they're not gonna judge you. 2066 01:48:31,422 --> 01:48:33,090 The family's there for you. 2067 01:48:33,257 --> 01:48:35,676 And at a certain point, 2068 01:48:35,843 --> 01:48:39,305 I helped him organize the first family reunion in Montauk. 2069 01:48:48,814 --> 01:48:51,108 He let his hair down 2070 01:48:51,275 --> 01:48:54,654 and was the brother that he was 40 years prior. 2071 01:48:59,533 --> 01:49:02,828 But he was who he was, so he had to plan it, 2072 01:49:02,995 --> 01:49:05,248 every moment of it. 2073 01:49:05,414 --> 01:49:08,584 They got all white sweat suits for one event, 2074 01:49:08,751 --> 01:49:12,296 and they got all Army uniforms for the safari. 2075 01:49:14,173 --> 01:49:16,759 - He loved life and you could tell that about him. 2076 01:49:16,926 --> 01:49:17,969 You could tell. 2077 01:49:20,346 --> 01:49:25,101 - I think he just wanted, maybe to slow down a little. 2078 01:49:25,268 --> 01:49:26,769 Being a regular person. 2079 01:49:28,104 --> 01:49:30,564 Here, he was Halston. 2080 01:49:30,731 --> 01:49:33,901 But I think inside, he was, you know, Roy. 2081 01:49:38,781 --> 01:49:41,033 - It came to a point where he said, 2082 01:49:41,200 --> 01:49:44,620 "I'm not gonna be able to go back to designing, 2083 01:49:44,787 --> 01:49:47,290 "so you need to kind of pursue your own life." 2084 01:49:47,456 --> 01:49:49,292 You know, he didn't want to hold me back. 2085 01:49:49,458 --> 01:49:54,130 So I decided to move to California. 2086 01:49:54,755 --> 01:49:57,800 (gentle guitar music) 2087 01:49:57,967 --> 01:50:00,803 It was a difficult decision to make. 2088 01:50:00,970 --> 01:50:02,471 But I bought a car 2089 01:50:02,638 --> 01:50:04,932 and told him I wanted to take him for a drive 2090 01:50:05,099 --> 01:50:08,269 up the Hudson River to blow off the stink. 2091 01:50:12,064 --> 01:50:14,442 It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday. 2092 01:50:14,608 --> 01:50:16,819 And at certain point, through the chatter, he said, 2093 01:50:16,986 --> 01:50:19,322 "Well, I have to tell you something." 2094 01:50:19,488 --> 01:50:20,906 And he revealed to me at that point 2095 01:50:21,073 --> 01:50:23,034 that he was sick with HIV. 2096 01:50:24,493 --> 01:50:28,039 And I just shut down and started freaking out. 2097 01:50:29,957 --> 01:50:32,668 And he said, "It's not a death sentence." 2098 01:50:32,835 --> 01:50:34,879 So I did the stiff upper lip thing, 2099 01:50:35,046 --> 01:50:37,298 'cause he didn't like people to cry, 2100 01:50:37,465 --> 01:50:38,924 and just went along with it like, 2101 01:50:39,091 --> 01:50:41,594 no, it's not a death sentence, no. 2102 01:50:45,389 --> 01:50:46,891 But you have to remember, 2103 01:50:47,058 --> 01:50:49,393 so many people were getting sick in those days. 2104 01:50:49,560 --> 01:50:52,313 - The fashion industry here is being devastated by AIDS. 2105 01:50:52,480 --> 01:50:54,190 - When Perry Ellis died in 1986, 2106 01:50:54,357 --> 01:50:56,192 his company denied it was AIDS-related. 2107 01:50:56,359 --> 01:50:58,110 - There is no drug, there is no treatment, 2108 01:50:58,277 --> 01:51:01,113 there's no vaccine, there's no prevention, there is no cure. 2109 01:51:01,280 --> 01:51:03,074 - No one was beating it. 2110 01:51:04,575 --> 01:51:05,785 I was terrified. 2111 01:51:06,952 --> 01:51:09,205 I was scared for him. 2112 01:51:09,372 --> 01:51:10,498 - I didn't wanna leave. 2113 01:51:10,664 --> 01:51:12,124 I kept asking him and asking him, 2114 01:51:12,291 --> 01:51:14,377 and even the last day I said, I can stay here. 2115 01:51:14,543 --> 01:51:17,338 I can live here, I can be your nurse, I can take you, 2116 01:51:17,505 --> 01:51:19,507 I can get your stuff if you don't want to go out. 2117 01:51:19,673 --> 01:51:24,053 And he was like, "No, I don't want you to do that." 2118 01:51:24,220 --> 01:51:27,306 So I left. 2119 01:51:37,400 --> 01:51:41,028 - He handled it the way he had to handle it. 2120 01:51:41,195 --> 01:51:43,489 You know, denial, and then fighting it and saying, 2121 01:51:43,656 --> 01:51:44,698 "No, this is not gonna take me." 2122 01:51:44,865 --> 01:51:47,451 And then finally realizing it had. 2123 01:51:49,161 --> 01:51:51,956 (solemn music) 2124 01:51:59,213 --> 01:52:00,965 He decided to sell the house. 2125 01:52:12,393 --> 01:52:15,813 (gentle piano music) 2126 01:52:15,980 --> 01:52:17,690 - He decided he was gonna live 2127 01:52:17,857 --> 01:52:22,278 his last moments of his life with his family in California. 2128 01:52:24,363 --> 01:52:26,657 He didn't want anybody to know, 2129 01:52:26,824 --> 01:52:30,828 so I didn't tell anybody until I had to tell my dad. 2130 01:52:35,374 --> 01:52:39,587 - He left, and he completely hid away 2131 01:52:39,753 --> 01:52:41,839 and didn't want anybody to see him. 2132 01:52:42,006 --> 01:52:44,383 - We would write him letters. 2133 01:52:48,554 --> 01:52:51,432 - I did not know that he was ill. 2134 01:52:51,599 --> 01:52:53,726 I wish I could call him now. 2135 01:52:56,187 --> 01:52:59,982 - That was a period of people I knew 2136 01:53:00,733 --> 01:53:03,611 that they will never come back. 2137 01:53:03,777 --> 01:53:05,237 But I remember them. 2138 01:53:06,697 --> 01:53:08,782 I don't regret those times. 2139 01:53:08,949 --> 01:53:10,326 I am alone, though. 2140 01:53:11,827 --> 01:53:13,412 And you are a voyeur. 2141 01:53:16,582 --> 01:53:18,334 - I tried to find out what was going on, 2142 01:53:18,501 --> 01:53:21,253 and then I heard the stories that he was in California, 2143 01:53:21,420 --> 01:53:25,049 driving along the coast in a convertible Rolls-Royce, 2144 01:53:25,216 --> 01:53:29,470 enjoying his life with his sunglasses and his hands out, 2145 01:53:30,930 --> 01:53:32,473 enjoying the breeze. 2146 01:53:33,891 --> 01:53:35,392 That's how I see him. 2147 01:54:31,532 --> 01:54:36,328 (epic music) 2148 01:54:41,375 --> 01:54:46,005 - He passed away the night of the Academy Awards, actually. 2149 01:54:46,755 --> 01:54:49,008 And his name was up on a television screen. 2150 01:55:00,853 --> 01:55:03,606 We had a beautiful ceremony, 2151 01:55:03,772 --> 01:55:06,984 and we played Fanfare for a Common Man. 2152 01:55:07,151 --> 01:55:10,863 ("Fanfare for the Common Man") 2153 01:55:13,157 --> 01:55:14,450 Halston was a common man. 2154 01:55:14,617 --> 01:55:16,160 He came from nowhere. 2155 01:55:17,786 --> 01:55:21,582 At the end, he said, "I just wanna fade away." 2156 01:55:21,749 --> 01:55:25,586 But as somebody like him, he couldn't just fade away. 2157 01:55:29,965 --> 01:55:31,258 - The death of a great American designer. 2158 01:55:31,425 --> 01:55:33,093 His name was Halston. 2159 01:55:33,260 --> 01:55:35,471 He was only 57 when he died in California. 2160 01:55:35,638 --> 01:55:37,681 Yesterday he died as the result of AIDS. 2161 01:55:37,848 --> 01:55:39,016 - With AIDS. - The cause, 2162 01:55:39,183 --> 01:55:40,601 AIDS-related cancer. 2163 01:55:40,768 --> 01:55:44,605 - We profoundly hope that it has a positive impact 2164 01:55:44,772 --> 01:55:47,232 on the public in becoming increasingly aware 2165 01:55:47,399 --> 01:55:50,319 of this terrible problem, and doing something about it. 2166 01:55:50,486 --> 01:55:53,030 (upbeat music) 2167 01:55:57,951 --> 01:55:59,662 - Five months later, 2168 01:55:59,828 --> 01:56:04,041 Halston Enterprises closed its Olympic Tower headquarters. 2169 01:56:04,500 --> 01:56:07,044 (audio screeching) 2170 01:56:09,880 --> 01:56:11,715 Today, fashion is fast. 2171 01:56:13,926 --> 01:56:18,555 And high up above the streets, in his beloved Olympic Tower, 2172 01:56:21,266 --> 01:56:23,227 a private investment firm. 2173 01:56:25,562 --> 01:56:27,898 It's morning again in America. 2174 01:56:30,317 --> 01:56:33,070 - Does it look pretty much the same? 2175 01:56:35,197 --> 01:56:37,074 - Oh, sure it's fun and it's not fun, 2176 01:56:37,241 --> 01:56:40,494 and it's upbeat and downbeat and everything else, you know. 2177 01:56:40,661 --> 01:56:44,540 But as my mother says, it's the price you have to pay. 2178 01:56:45,874 --> 01:56:46,583 Thank you. 2179 01:56:48,419 --> 01:56:49,253 Okay? 2180 01:56:49,420 --> 01:56:50,254 It's a wrap. (laughing) 2181 01:57:06,353 --> 01:57:11,108 ♪ I am for a life around the corner ♪ 2182 01:57:11,525 --> 01:57:15,946 ♪ That takes you by surprise ♪ 2183 01:57:16,113 --> 01:57:20,492 ♪ That comes leaves all you need ♪ 2184 01:57:20,659 --> 01:57:22,870 ♪ And more besides ♪ 2185 01:57:23,036 --> 01:57:27,708 ♪ I am for a life and time by numbers ♪ 2186 01:57:28,417 --> 01:57:32,796 ♪ Blast in fast and low ♪ 2187 01:57:32,963 --> 01:57:37,050 ♪ Add 'em up, account for luck ♪ 2188 01:57:37,217 --> 01:57:39,636 ♪ You never know ♪ 2189 01:57:39,803 --> 01:57:44,767 ♪ I am into friendship and plain sailing ♪ 2190 01:57:44,933 --> 01:57:49,146 ♪ Through frenzied ports o'call ♪ 2191 01:57:49,313 --> 01:57:53,525 ♪ O shake the hand to beat the band ♪ 2192 01:57:53,692 --> 01:57:56,195 ♪ With love is all ♪ 2193 01:57:56,361 --> 01:58:00,991 ♪ Or nothing to the man who wants tomorrow ♪ 2194 01:58:01,617 --> 01:58:05,871 ♪ There's one in every town ♪ 2195 01:58:06,038 --> 01:58:10,417 ♪ A crazy guy, he'd rather die ♪ 2196 01:58:10,584 --> 01:58:13,170 ♪ Than be tied down ♪ 2197 01:58:13,337 --> 01:58:18,091 ♪ I am for the man who drives the hammer ♪ 2198 01:58:18,258 --> 01:58:22,638 ♪ To rock you till the grave ♪ 2199 01:58:22,805 --> 01:58:29,394 ♪ His power drill shocks a million miles away ♪ 2200 01:58:29,978 --> 01:58:34,858 ♪ I am for the revolution's coming ♪ 2201 01:58:35,025 --> 01:58:39,238 ♪ I don't know where she's been ♪ 2202 01:58:39,404 --> 01:58:41,698 ♪ For those who dare... ♪