Right before school started, I took a trip to LA, and on the plane, I binge-watched the Netflix series “Halston.” As a fashion major, I had heard the name Halston before but I was not too familiar with his work and his legacy. He was extremely popular during the ’70s through the ’90s, but then his brand completely disappeared, and there is no trace today. One of my friends had mentioned that she enjoyed watching this show and that I should watch it. The show was shot and produced very well, but like any other Ryan Murphy production, there was something missing.
Halston is a Netflix miniseries starring Ewan Mcgregor as the titular Halston, which won him the 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series. The show was based on a book titled “Simply Halston” by Steven Gaines and was directed by Daniel Minahan. The show got a 66% on Rotten Tomatoes, with most commenting that the star of the show was Mcgregor’s acting and not the actual story of Halston. I couldn’t agree more with this sentiment because though Ewan and the rest of the cast did a fantastic job, the actual heart of the story was missing.
The show started with his childhood and then followed him throughout his career and personal life, which was often intertwined, until his death. As someone who knew very little about this artist, the show did a great job showing all his achievements and the behind-the-scenes of what went on during these big moments. However, my first complaint is that the show focused too much on the sex and drug aspect of Halston’s life. His peak was through the ’70s and ’80s, so it makes sense that sex and drugs were important, but it often felt that this aspect was the most important part. He was sleeping with multiple male prostitutes, eventually settling down with one who eventually took advantage of him. He starts out on the show denouncing drugs but then does so much that his company starts getting affected by it. Even if everything that’s shown is based on real events, they handled it in a way that did not feel right. I am reminded of “Mad Men,” where sex and drugs were also important, but each sex scene was purposeful and added a lot to the story.
I understand the series only had five episodes, but a lot of the characters’ arcs were extremely rushed and felt quite random. We completely missed Liza Millenil’s arc from young singer to an alcoholic, and even though it is a show about Halston, they made it seem that she was an integral part. This is true for most of the characters in the show, with most of them having arcs, but you miss the middle portion.
However, this show is not all bad. Krysta Rodriguez as Liza Minnelli was absolutely spectacular. From her singing “Liza with a Z” to being the person that grounds Halston, she embodied the character beautifully and brought so much to the show. The overall visuals and production of the show were also stunning. Halston HQ and the Halston dresses were almost dreamlike and truly transported us to the world of Halston. I also highly recommend this show for all fashion enthusiasts because it is a great introduction to the designer. I also really appreciate Halston coming back into pop culture, because he was a genius and an icon who needs to be celebrated.
