It has been a tumultuous week for the Halston label. Earlier in the week it was reported that Sarah Jessica Parker was departing from her role as the president and CEO of Halston Heritage. Now reports are circulating that Harvey Weinstein, who placed himself on the company’s board of directors after Hilco Consumer Capital and his own Weinstein Co. bought the label back in 2007, will also be making a permanent departure. There is no word yet as to whether or not Hilco will try and buy out Weinstein’s shares in the troubled American fashion house. Industry insiders are already confirming that both Parker and Weinstein’s departures are collateral damage from the company’s continued financial woes that have plagued it since the death of its founder and namesake Roy Halston in 1990.
In the mid-seventies when Roy Halston was a permanent fixture at Studio 54 and his collections could be seen on the jet setting celebrity elite of America and Europe the Halston label was considered by most to be the pinnacle of American fashion. However today’s Halston is widely considered a shadow of its former self. So when Hilco and Weinstein purchased the company in ’07 to much fanfare, many in the fashion industry hoped to see Halston help lead a revival of contemporary American fashion. When Parker was installed as the president and CEO of the Heritage line in 2010 however some began to worry if Halston was sacrificing creativity and design for the sake of branding and prestige. Sure enough Paker did not follow the example of Victoria Beckham or the Olsen twins and failed to place her film career on the back burner for the sake of her studio.
Perhaps with the Hollywood elite who have been playing fashion designers and managers at Halston now departed the brand has a new chance to rise again. But rumors persist that Marios Schwab, who is the creative director for Halson’s main label, may not be around much longer either unless he relocates his design studio from London to Halston’s headquarters in New York. An unlikely scenario considering Mr. Schwab has his own label to look after in London. Hilco continues to insist that they have no plans on selling the label despite rumors to the contrary being very popular earlier this year.
At the moment it seems as if the Halston house intends to soldier on regardless of losses, but for those who appreciate the American slant on fashion that Roy Halston made so iconic, the next few years may be difficult to watch.
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