Halston is no longer beleaguered, thanks to Bradley Bayou and his twist on the legend, says Phillip D. Johnson

PHOTOGRAPHED BY THE AUTHOR

RADLEY BAYOU is a very lucky man.
   By some twist of fate, he was allowed to develop his skills and an enviable clientèle list (in that increasingly fashionable outpost, Los Angeles) before being called upon to take over the design duties at the much-beleaguered Halston design firm. If Calvin Klein is going through his own personal version of hell right now, he only has to think back on what happened to Halston to feel that much better about himself. If memory serves—and it does very well—Halston, a star designer of the ’70s and early ’80s, sold his name to the J. C. Penney Corporation, with the expectation that he would be given a free reign to run the company. No such luck. Instead, he found himself on the outside looking, fell deeper under the influence of drugs and alcohol and could only watch in horror as his name and company was trashed beyond recognition. He later died a broken man, with a legacy in need of a lot of TLC.
   In the years after that, one designer after the other came and went, each one failing to create a sustainable rebirth of the Halston name and reputation. Mr Bayou, by virtue of wonderful timing, is the right man at the right time for the job. And having seen the spring 2004 collection, it is safe to say that the long-awaited (and much-anticipated) rebirth of the Halston line as a house to be respected and coveted has begun.
   This collection of 20 strictly-edited pieces was presented in a relaxed environment at the Royalton Hotel during Market Week, and according to Mr Bayou, got its inspiration from the ‘cover drawing of a beautiful wave’ of an antique Japanese art book. ‘There is so much art to be found in the ocean,’ he told WWD, ‘the vivid colours and movement of the water really inspired me.’
   He referred to this collection as ‘couture’, and truly it was as the name suggested: Bradley Bayou for Halston Couture Collection. In no way, shape or form did he attempt to resurrect the dead. That would have been the most wrong-headed move on his part. Instead, what he did was to put his own personal spin on the Halston legend but retained the detail, workmanship and joie de vivre the house was known for in the halcyon years. He was very much of the season, in that he showed very pretty dresses in a season when every man and his dog did pretty dresses. But his dresses had a certain flair and style that was a cut above most other designers’.

continued

In no way, shape or form did Bayou attempt to resurrect the dead. Instead, what he did was to put his own personal spin on the Halston legend but retained the detail, workmanship and joie de vivre the house was known for in the halcyon years