Over the last year, CNN Films has really upped its game when it comes to documentaries. In 2018 and early 2019, the studio has released docs such as “Three Identical Strangers,” “RBG,” “Love, Gilda,” and “Apollo 11.” Those four films are easily some of the best examples of documentary filmmaking over the last calendar year. Now, CNN Films hopes to keep the streak going with a standout at this year’s Sundance, titled “Halston.”
In the trailer for the new film, you see that “Halston” covers the rise and fall of one of the biggest names in American fashion. The doc follows Halston’s meteoric rise as the premier fashion designer in the US, as he rubs elbows with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and could regularly be seen at Studio 54. But it appears that his ambition was also his downfall, as a major deal with a mass market retailer turned his career upside down.
“Halston” comes from filmmaker Frédéric Tcheng. Back in 2014, Tcheng broke out in a big way thanks to his doc “Dior & I.”
“Halston” hits theaters on May 24 before it’s CNN premiere later in the year.
Here’s the synopsis:
America’s first superstar designer, Halston rose to international fame in the 1970s, creating an empire and personifying the dramatic social and sexual revolution of the last century. Reaching beyond the glamour and glitz, acclaimed filmmaker Frédéric Tcheng reveals Halston’s profound impact on fashion, culture, and business.
HALSTON captures the epic sweep of the life and times of the legendary designer Roy Halston Frowick, the man who set women free with his unstructured designs and strove to “dress all of America.” Framing the story as an investigation featuring actress and writer Tavi Gevinson as a young archivist diving into the Halston company records, Tcheng expertly weaves rare archival footage and intimate interviews with Halston’s family, friends and collaborators including Jacqueline Kennedy, Liza Minelli, Andy Warhol and Iman. What results is a behind-the-headlines look into the thrilling struggle between Halston’s artistic legacy and the pressures of big business.
