Fashion designer Halston personified the hedonistic glamour of ‘70s New York, becoming as much of a celebrity as his hard-partying Studio 54 clients.
This documentary seeks out bestie Liza Minnelli and others to unearth the man behind the lifestyle.
Newbie director Whitney Sudler-Smith gets sidetracked ogling the excess (hard to blame – the designer’s mirror-walled sky-rise offices alone are jaw-dropping), but there’s a healthy dose of ironic distance, with interviews humorously interrupted by self-involved fashionistas taking calls.
While addiction, AIDS and a mass-market brand-name plummet eventually burst Halston’s bubble, this fast-burning talent’s life is refreshingly not painted as a tragic morality tale.
