Halston's heritage lives on
A refreshingly youthful breath of fresh air made its way through Rustan’s last week.
At the Gallerie, the marble floor space in the middle of the womenswear section, the department store launched the holiday collections of Longchamp, Eileen Fisher and Lilly Pulitzer. But the news was the arrival of Halston Heritage.
Kat Tantoco-Lobregat, garbed in an of-the-moment olive jumpsuit, stacked platforms, her hair casually arranged in glossy, café au lait-hued curls, was excited to introduce the line she personally selected for the family business.
“It’s a young and cool line,” Lobregat, Rustan’s head buyer for ladies fashion and young adults, explains. “A girl can buy a dress from Halston Heritage, wear it everywhere and — 10 years from now — wear it again.”
Halston Heritage, not to be mistaken for Halston, the signature line currently helmed by designer Mario Schwab, is the more affordable line under creative head Sarah Jessica Parker. The actress famously donned a dress from the label in the latest Sex and the City movie. The white jersey, knee-skimming number even made the movie poster. Talk about cross promotion.
Parker plumbed the archives of Halston, giving the late Roy Halston Frowick’s trademark slinky silhouettes a tweak here and there. The hallmarks of the designer’s aesthetic — long, languid cuts, sleek jersey draping and an offbeat sexiness that’s upscale without being showy (none of that excessive maximalist beading here) — are present in the current holiday collection stocked in Rustan’s.
A floaty peach one-shoulder mini-caftan with voluminous sleeves, which also made an appearance on SATC 2, is a keeper, while a purple, floor-length dress with a plunging neckline that manages to be modest strikes a particular chord with girls who enjoy sporting a maxidress or two.
A particular favorite of Lobregat’s is the long matte gold dress with a slit up the thigh. “I would wear that in a heartbeat,” she says.
Dresses make up the lion’s share of the collection, but there are a few key separates in stock, including trousers and a cropped fitted jacket in black.
For fall 2010, horizon blue, lipstick red and sapphire are prevalent, while discreet disco hues — silver and gold backed with a black base — offer a respite from Halston’s signature primary-hued frocks.
Expect new pieces to come every month. According to Danny Alibudbud, Rustan’s merchandiser, a shipment of dresses in navy, plum, disco print and retro gold and silver will be making its way to Manila in the coming months. ”Key looks include one-shoulder gowns, blouson dresses, beaded lace tunics, pleated shirts and leather-look pants,” says Alibudbud.
Price is where things get interesting. Ranging between P18,000 to about P25,000, the clothes are by no means cheap.
“But,” argues Lobregat, “this is a classic. You can give it to your kids after you pass on.”
And, according to Lobregat, a survey of young designers’ prices for made-to-order dresses aren’t far off from Halston Heritage’s range.
“These are the kind of clothes you can throw on when you have a big event or a small party,” she says. “It’s effortlessly chic.”
Like the girl Halston first envisioned when he crafted what became the game-changing silhouette of the ‘70s, the shopper who wears Halston Heritage can slip on the dress, grab a clutch on the way out the door and hie out to the next party, launch or dinner with her unbrushed, tousled hair and bare face — save for a cheek stain and a little mascara, maybe.
“These days, looking like you made too much effort to get ready isn’t really the thing,” Lobregat says. “You want to look put together without being too showy.”
Halston Heritage straddles the great divide between casual cool and uptown sophistication. It moves easily, unlike the painfully constricted minidresses often on parade on any given Friday night, and doesn’t require sky-high heels.
“Maybe what I like about Halston,” she says, “is that the clothes have this great vintage feel but they’re so very now. Every girl wants them — including me.”
Ditto for this writer.
