It's the latest biopic miniseries currently on Netflix where we see Ewan McGregor cast for the role of the late designer Roy Halston Frowick, otherwise known in the fashion world as Halston. Based on the book 'Simply Halston' as written by Steven Gaines, the 5-episode series takes us through some of they key moments that established him as a designer but also through some of the more difficult periods of his life both personally and within the fashion. Primarily Starting in the 1960's in episode 1 through to the 1970's and 1980's in the finale, costume designer Jeriana San Juan really did capture the glamour of the decades and Halston's style himself, along with some of Halston's most iconic designs, from the tie-dye dresses to the style of Liza Minnelli (played by Krysta Rodriguez). We at A Hand Tailored Suit really admired the costumes in the series, but also couldn't help but notice some fantastic elements of tailoring.
Ewan McGregor, who stars as the designer Halston himself in the series, is seen throughout the episodes wearing a consistent array of tailoring. In his portrayal of Halston, he wasn't really seen wearing more than two colours in an outfit, either opting for a monochromatic look or adding a second colour for that extra pop - the ensemble above is an example.This two-piece white suit was worn with a black roll neck top underneath which, in the more darker light setting, definitely encourages the suit to pop. The jacket itself has wide lapels with a small notch, large patch pockets either side and the classic welt pocket on the chest.
Casual knitwear was another common item that we see Halston wear throughout the series, and here's another example taken in Halston's office. He's seen here wearing an all-black ensemble consisting of black bootcut trousers, black roll neck and a full-zip black knit jumper with a high collar.
In episode 2, we see Halston and his team arrive in France for the famous 1973 fashion show, 'Battle of Versailles'. Upon their arrival in this scene, Halston is sporting a double-breasted black trench coat draped over his shoulders. The coat itself included shoulder epaulettes and wide notch lapels/collar surrounding the black roll neck, also worn with a black tailored jacket and trousers too. As shared by the costume designer of the series herself (Jeriana San Juan) on her social media, the first image also shows Joe Eula (played by David Pittu) standing to the left of Halston, wearing a camel safari-style jacket with four button-down patch pockets, a tie belt and styled with the collar standing up. In image 5, we see Liza Minnelli (Krysta Rodriguez) wearing a neutral outfit of a beige jumper with white trousers and a fur-trimmed overcoat, whilst jewellery designer Elsa Peretti (played by Rebecca Dayan) wears a black, knee-length overcoat also with a fur trim and high-waisted trousers with a cream top. Let Halston's black knee-length tie belt coat with wide notch lapels worn over a tan overshirt not go unnoticed.
At the beginning of the series, we see a young Joel Schumacher (played by Rory Culkin) working as Halston's assistant and junior partner as Schumacher is shown introducing his tie-dye fabric to the designer. In this particular scene, Schumacher wears a white with black pinstripe two-piece suit and a printed shirt worn open collar. The jacket itself includes soft but wide notch lapels, with double jet pockets either side of the jacket as the pinstripe design is just noticeable inside the pocket. With the jacket sleeves slightly pushed up to expose the shirt's cuffs, it was a tailored costume in the show that was a great piece on screen.
Joe Eula was a famous American fashion illustrator who worked as the creative director of the Halston fashion house for a decade and, as seen here, he is wearing a sand-coloured casual jacket with black buttons and notch lapels finishing with reinforcing stitches. With a striped lining exposed on the cuffs folded back, the shirt cuffs are also slightly on show. The lightweight cream buttoned shirt is styled with the wide collar lying over the top of the jacket as the illustrator accessorises with a brown ascot. This example of costume was a style for Eula throughout the series.
One tailoring moment we couldn't not talk about also is spotted in episode 3, 'The Sweet Smell Of Success', as worn spectacularly by Elsa Peretti (Rebecca Dayan) during the scene. Made by fashion designer Amber Doyle for the series, Peretti wears a grey Prince of Wales check two-piece suit with a white shirt unbuttoned to the trouser waist and with her hair slicked back, it's a true power suit moment. The jacket's very wide peak lapels curve down to the 2-button fastening and bring attention to the pattern-matched flapped pockets. The sleeves include four buttons on the cuffs, whilst the bootcut trousers are designed with belt loops and thin pockets on the back.
A coat tended to be Halston's (Ewan McGregor) stand-out item of clothing amongst the costumes in the series, and this long off-white trench coat was one of them. The coat includes standard shoulder epaulettes, sleeve belts, wide notch lapels and a wide collar folded over. Slanted pockets appear to be also be included as a feature of the coat, whilst the belt is left undone and draping down to really enhance the fabric's movement in the scene. The bottom of the coat is finished with a turned-up hem and as a thin black scarf is draped over the coat as an added accessory, it only enhances the impact of the designer's coat more. This is just like the all-black outfit pictured below allowed Halston's bright red overcoat with deep notch lapels and red belt (with a black buckle) to also be a defining costume. View this bold coat in action as shared by actress Shannon Wilson who plays Bobbi Mahoney in the series, wife of David Mahoney (who acquired Halston in 1973), played by Bill Pullman.
It's a biopic miniseries full of glamour, drama and emotion all connected to those around Halston and the designer himself, with more outfits to really fulfill your love of fashion and costume! If you've not yet seen it, check out the trailer for 'Halston' below, now streaming on Netflix:
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