Halston, the documentary about the legendary design and lifestyle icon, from director Frédéric Tcheng (‘Dior and I’), which world premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, will premiere on CNN on Sunday, August 18 at 9:00pm Eastern and Pacific on CNN. Halston will encore on CNN on Saturday, August 24 at 9:00pm Eastern.
“We couldn’t have dreamt of a better partner than CNN Films to bring this forgotten piece of American history back to life,” said Tcheng.
Iowa-born Roy Halston Frowick quickly established himself first as an in-demand milliner, even designing First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s iconic pillbox hat, and later, swiftly rising to his own iconic status. The film explores how, at the height of his fame, Halston’s empire included couture, ready-to-wear, fragrances, and even uniforms, accessories, and housewares. His movie star looks and cool confidence made him a frequent guest for popular television shows. He dressed the A-list for the Academy Awards, and was a perennial figure in New York’s party scene. Never disconnected from his humble origins, Halston believed chic, sleek style should be as accessible to everyday women as it was to the society mavens that visited his couture salons.
Halston’s design deal with JCPenney shocked the industry as the first of its kind. Tcheng elegantly constructs his story as an unraveling of the business mystery central to the legend of Halston’s career that followed: how did such as successful designer lose his empire? The mystery is unspooled by culture influencer Tavi Gevinson, whom Tcheng has cast to ‘investigate’ Halston’s business rise and fall. Tcheng deftly interweaves Gevinson’s scenes with interviews with those who knew Halston best: his niece Lesley Frowick, who reveals that Halston’s seeming singular creative focus belied his devoted, loving relationships with his cherished family. Close friends Liza Minnelli, Joel Schumacher, Elsa Peretti, and Marisa Berenson; business associates; and, ‘the Halstonettes,’ model-muse-friends Karen Bjornson, Alva Chinn, Pat Cleveland, and Chris Royer all add insights to Halston’s persona for the film.
Halston is currently playing in theaters.