>> Cathy Horyn brings up a couple of key points today about why Halston didn't work, yet again.
1. The "too many cooks in the kitchen" theory.
Considering that you've got notoriously strong-personalitied Harvey Weinstein as partial owner of the brand, notoriously strong-personalitied Tamara Mellon on the board, and notoriously strong-personalitied Rachel Zoe, who was until recently a creative and red carpet consultant for the brand, all stirring the Halston pot, I'd say the explosion factor was pretty likely.
2. After the initial push, there was little brand visibility in the public eye.
As Cathy points out:
One of the telling things about the Halston situation, even before Marco Zanini’s departure, is that there has been very little publicity or marketed buzz around the label. If the company were completely organized and focused, we would see that—we would see lots of actresses wearing the clothes, we would hear people talking about a Halston bag. Whatever. There’s been a lot of silence since Zanini showed his first collection, back in February. That may have been a calculated decision, but somehow I doubt it, and, anyway, what would be the point in this kind of economic climate?
This lack of red carpet visibility is part of the reason, according to Fashion Week Daily, why Rachel Zoe was let go — because she couldn't connect the dresses with her clients (or anyone else's, for that matter).
Halston has been through countless revivals since Halston's death in 1990, under the creative direction of designers Randolph Duke, Kevan Hall, Craig Natiello, Piyawat Pattanapuckdee, Bradley Bayou, and most recently Marco Zanini. Let's hope the next batter up can bring us a home run.
*image: source
»Nina Garcia is rumored to have charged $60,000-$70,000 per public appearance in her final months as fashion director at Elle [Gawker]
