American fashion designer who rose to international fame in the 1970s. His minimalist, clean designs, often made of cashmere or ultrasuede, were popular fashion wear in mid-1970s discotheques and redefined American fashion. Halston was well known for creating a style for “American Women,” from his point of view meaning a relaxed urban lifestyle. He created a new phenomenon in the 1970s, believing that women can wear the same clothing for the entire day on any occasion.
In 1953, he opened his own hat business. His customers included Fran Allison, Kim Novak, Gloria Swanson, Deborah Kerr and Hedda Hopper. Halston moved to New York City in late 1957, first working for milliner Lilly Daché. Within a year, he had been named the co-designer at Daché, became acquainted with several fashion editors and publishers, and left Daché’s studio to become head milliner for department store Bergdorf Goodman in their customer milliner salon.
Halston achieved great fame after designing the pillbox hat Jacqueline Kennedy wore to her husband’s presidential inauguration in 1961. When hats fell out of fashion, Halston moved on to designing clothing, made possible by Estelle Marsh, a millionaire from Amarillo, Texas. Mrs. Marsh was his sole financial backer during this critical time of development.
He opened his first boutique on Madison Avenue in 1968. The collection that year included a dark jade velvet wedding gown for advertising executive Mary Wells Lawrence. Lawrence would be instrumental in bringing Halston to Braniff in 1976 to design Braniff’s hostess, pilot, ticket agent, and ground personnel uniforms. Halston launched his first ready-to-wear line, Halston Limited, in 1969.
Halston’s boutique drew celebrity clients like Babe Paley, Anjelica Huston, Gene Tierney, Lauren Bacall, Margaux Hemingway, Elizabeth Taylor, Bianca Jagger and Liza Minnelli (both Jagger and Minnelli would become close friends). In 1973, Halston sold his line to Norton Simon, Inc. for $16 million but remained its principal designer. In 1975, Max Factor released Halston’s first namesake fragrance for women. Throughout the 1970s, Halston had expanded his line to include menswear, luggage, handbags, lingerie and bedding. Vogue later noted that Halston was responsible for popularizing caftans, which he made for Jacqueline Kennedy, matte jersey halter top dresses, and polyurethane in American fashion.
He was asked by the U.S. Olympic Committee to design the Pan American Games and U.S. Olympic Team’s uniforms in 1976. He also designed the uniforms for the Girl Scouts, the New York Police Department, and the Avis Rent a Car System.
Halston’s models were known as the Halstonettes, and included Pat Cleveland, Heidi Goldberg, Karen Bjornson, Beverly Johnson, Naty Abascal, Pilar Crespi and Pat Ast.
Halston’s long-time lover was Venezuelan-born artist Victor Hugo. The two met while Hugo was working as a rent boy in 1972. Halston eventually hired Hugo to work as his window dresser. Their on-and-off relationship lasted sixteen years.
In 1988, Halston tested positive for HIV. After his health began to fail, he moved to San Francisco, where he was cared for by his family. On 26 March 1990, he died of Kaposi’s sarcoma, an AIDS-defining illness, in San Francisco, aged 57.
In June 1990, Halston’s longtime friend, singer and actress Liza Minnelli, sponsored a tribute at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall that was followed by a reception hosted by his friend Elsa Peretti.

Link to Wikipedia biography