Who owns Halston now? Revlon to Harvey Weinstein, a look at who helmed iconic designer's label over the years
Roy "Halston" Frowick created a brand that was truly synonymous with himself. From designing former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy's iconic pillbox hat to launching multiple labels over the course of his lifetime, the designer's legacy has carried on, long after his death.
However, keeping the legacy alive has been far from easy, seeing that the brand was helmed by multiple companies, designers and creative heads over the years. Between 1990 to 2015, the Halston label could not seem to stay put when it came to management. Although the current company has had ownership of the brand since 2015, the label has seen quite a few changes over the past three decades.
RELATED ARTICLES
Who owns Halston now?
H Halston and H by Halston was sold to Xcel Brands in 2015, after seeing an array of owners. Under Xcel Brands, Cameron Silver serves as the brand's Fashion Director. Silver is a celebrity stylist and an international best-selling author, among his other achievements.
As reported by Reuters, Xcel Brands, Inc. is a wholesale distributor that handles the designing, marketing, production and sale of branded apparel, footwear, accessories and other products. Xcel has multiple brands under its wing, such as Isaac Mizrahi, Judith Ripka, Halston, C Wonder and Longaberger.
Which other companies have had ownership of Halston?
Ever since Halston's death in 1990, multiple companies have taken over the brand, up until Xcel acquired the same in 2015. Under Revlon, the apparel section of the brand ceased production in 1990 and it was then purchased by Borghese in 1991.
Tropic Tex, a sportswear firm brought the clothing license in 1996, and designer Randolph Duke has hired to relaunch the line. Duke's 1997 fall collection did exceedingly well, with the likes of Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Minnie Driver donning outfits from the line.
After Duke left in 1998, the company was sold to a private equity fund, Catterton-Simon, with Kevan Hall taking over as head designer. The label also rebranded itself as House of Halston. Hall's 1998 Spring collection too, did exceedingly well.
1999 saw a change in management yet again, as Halston Enterprises was now sold to Neema Clothing. Bradley Bayou was hired as the designer after Hall quit. James J Ammeen, the new owner planned to relaunch the brand as a luxury one. Bayou's line which was called 'Bayou for Halston' was worn by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Queen Latifah. However, the designer soon quit in 2005, seeing that Ammeen did not pay him for advertising.
In 2006, Hilco Consumer Capital, along with Jimmy Choo co-founder Tamara Mellon, stylist Rachel Zoe, and film producer Harvey Weinstein purchased the line in order to relaunch it. After trouble over deciding a lead designer, Marco Zanini of Versace was hired in 2007 to take over. Zanini's 2008 collection opened to mixed reviews and ultimately, designer Marios Schwab was hired in 2009. The same year, Sarah Jessica Parker wore two outfits from the Halston Heritage line, which was based on archived sketches by Halston. The company then hired the actress as the president and chief creative officer, where she oversaw the Halston Heritage line. In 2011, Parker, Schwab and Weinstein left the company.
In 2011, Hilco Consumer Capital brought in Ben Malka, former president of BCBG as chairman and CEO of Halston Heritage. Malka along with Marie Mazelis, the former creative director of Max Azria and Hervé Léger, worked towards relaunching the brand. Hilco invested $7.5 million for the same.
In 2015, the company sold H by Halston and H Halston to Xcel.
'Halston' on Netflix follows the life of the designer, his rise to fame and this story thereafter. As per the synopsis -- 'His name built an empire. His style defined an era. American fashion designer Halston skyrockets to fame before his life starts to spin out of control.'
'Halston' premieres on Netflix on May 14, 2021.