DVD tip

Halston

The problem with this documentary about the late legendary designer Halston is that you never get to know him. He remains a remote figure who seems always to be hiding behind an artificial facade. Based on the film, Halston would probably want to keep it that way. He created himself, after all, and he didn’t want to say much about, for instance, his early childhood days in Iowa (although, in this documentary, his niece fills in some history). The movie does provide an interesting glimpse into the 1970s and, in particular, the New York elite and all the glamor and excess that involved. It also explains all the ways that Halston was first: tying fashion to celebrity; creating a line of products that went well beyond clothing; and making deals with big corporations, which didn’t end so well for Halston. Director Frederic Tcheng adds an odd and unnecessary element, framing the documentary with a fictional Halston employee investigating the designer’s life. Silly.