Marco Zanini out at Halston

[kimair]

source: wwd july 16, 2009

It looks like the designer door has swung again at Halston.

Just one year after being hired by Harvey Weinstein and Tamara Mellon to resurrect the iconic fashion house, creative director Marco Zanini is said to be out.

The Italian-born designer no longer works at the company's Spring Street headquarters in lower Manhattan, according to sources familiar with the situation. Zanini is said to have designed the spring collection, which will be unveiled during New York Fashion Week in September. The company may already be considering potential successors, and an announcement could come before fashion week, the sources said.

Halston executives were unavailable for comment. Zanini could not be reached.

Zanini's departure appears to mark another chapter in the checkered history of Halston, which had its heyday in the late Seventies when its charismatic namesake designer was a glamorous fixture at Studio 54 and dressed the global celebrity and jet set. Since his death in 1990, there have been numerous attempts to revive the label, with designers Randolph Duke, Kevan Hall, Craig Natiello, Piyawat Pattanapuckdee and Bradley Bayou passing through the company's doors.

Zanini arrived at Halston during a period of renewed promise for the label, where all the right ingredients were aligned: a charismatic movie mogul in Weinstein, a bona fide business executive in Jimmy Choo founder Mellon, a press-loving celebrity stylist in Rachel Zoe and a designer with an impressive résumé.

Last year, the Weinstein Co. and Hilco Consumer Capital LLC bought Halston from Neema Clothing Ltd. and its owner, James J. Ammeen. Sources speculated the sale price was between $22 million and $27 million. The buzz surrounding Weinstein's involvement in the deal, with Mellon on its board and creative advisory team, instantly made the Halston moniker one of the hottest commodities in American fashion. Many believed with the new ownership, Halston could herald fresh synergy between Hollywood and fashion.

"Our model was Arnon Milchan and what he had done with Puma," Weinstein said at the WWD/DNR CEO Summit in October. "So when Tamara Mellon brought us the idea of acquiring Halston, I immediately knew it was a perfect fit. She showed me a book of a thousand designs that Halston had done. To be honest, I didn't even know that much about Halston. I'd kind of heard about Halston, and Tamara did the education and so she deserves the credit."

At the time, Weinstein added that Halston could become "a great American luxury brand, something that evokes glamour, elegance, sophistication and is effortlessly timeless."

The plan was to bring this brand to life with respect to the original namesake designer and his Seventies heyday, not what followed. The launch collection for fall came complete with full ready-to-wear, footwear and handbag collections produced in-house, and an unprecedented marketing initiative with Net-a-porter.com that allowed shoppers to get their hands on two looks from Zanini's first runway show within 24 hours of the presentation. There also has been buzz involving a documentary about the company's namesake that would be produced by the Weinstein Co.

"I want to introduce Halston's life to a world of playwrights and authors, actors and filmmakers," Weinstein said at the CEO summit. "I want them to be inspired. Maybe somebody will make a movie about that time period. I see Halston filled with limitless opportunities and I'm thrilled to be associated with this amazing group of people."

Much hope was pinned on Zanini, who joined the brand from Versace, where he had worked closely with Donatella Versace on the women's and men's collections since 1999. Before that, the 36-year-old designer worked for Dolce & Gabbana and Lawrence Steele.

Mellon was said to have brought Zanini to Weinstein's attention. At the time of the hire last July, the designer said he had admired Halston since childhood.

"Halston, for me and for so many people in fashion, has always been a reference," Zanini told WWD at the time.

His background — and Weinstein's Hollywood muscle — prompted many to expect va-va-voom gowns that would immediately establish Halston on the red-carpet circuit, not unlike Marchesa, which is designed by Weinstein's wife, Georgina Chapman.

Zanini's first collection for fall didn't deliver on that front. Weinstein arrived at the show on the arm of Liza Minnelli, the quintessential Halstonette, which many took as an ominous sign.

The collection that followed was referential to the original designer's archive without enough freshness to make a real impact on fashion, and it largely received a mixed reaction. WWD said in its review, "It's clear that Zanini has a long way to go before he can assume the mantle of one of America's greatest talents and make it his own," calling the clothes "lost in a limbo between historical reverence and the yen to update."

The International Herald Tribune described Zanini's first outing as "a polite homage to the Halston heritage without much fire," lacking the "sexual charge" so inherent to the label's DNA and the original designer's own lifestyle. Sources at the time said Zanini was devastated by the reviews.

Other signs of friction surfaced during the New York shows. Zoe, who was also serving on Halston's creative advisory board, was notably absent from Zanini's first runway effort, even though she managed to be a front-row regular at other shows that week. It led to speculation that the Hollywood stylist and the designer had fallen out over the creative direction in which the new Halston was heading.

The fall collection was said to have received underwhelming interest from American retailers.

That said, European and Asian stores were apparently more impressed with Zanini's efforts. In June, Selfridges opened an 800-square-foot Halston in-store boutique on its second floor, decorated with dove gray carpets, slate-colored sofas and mirrored gray screens. A company spokesman said the collection had a 52 percent sell-through for its rtw in the first 10 days of business. At the opening party, Bonnie Takhar, president and chief executive officer of Halston, told WWD there were plans to extend the brand into other categories, including sunglasses, swimwear, jeans and candles.

"It's one brand that can diversify," she said.

[Spike413]

This musical chairs game seems to be getting more and more frantic lately.

It's seems like every few months that another design director is ejected because one or two collections weren't received well.

I didn't love his first collection because of a mix of high expectations and pretty blah results, but I would've liked to see if he could've stepped up to the challenge in a years time.

Thanks for posting kimair.

[eugenius]

So I guess todays cover story about Halston is kind of null and void..

[Gaultier_Bandit]

What??!!! It is an outrage. I thought his first collection was great. It was very Halston to me. It must be really hard working under a house that is so specific about their aesthetic. If he traveled into unknown territory it would be sacriligious and if he played it safe, it would be boring. I think he needed a few more seasons to find who he was at Halston. Where his voice and Halstons could both coencide. And to be honest I dunno why Halston is popping up know, when we are living in a time of a very modern and futuristic aesthetic(Lanvin, Balenciaga). Where the color black is in. (Givenchy, Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld)To me Halston is not black, to me it was color, it was pastels etc. IMHO, Halston just does not fit in with todays aesthetic.

[Spike413]

^ I disagree with your last point. Fashion is going into a phase of refined, luxurious clothes that are scaled back in terms of embellishment, print, color etc. A lot of designers are tapping into something minimal and modern which is what Halston was always about.

I think a big part of why the collection received such mixed reviews was because it seemed like such an ideal time to reinvent the Halston label and Zanini didn't quite manage that.

[leyla m.]

i saw this coming. i found the collection a disappointing relaunch to say the least!
marco so doesnt feel halston

[disco54]

Originally Posted by Spike413

^ I disagree with your last point. Fashion is going into a phase of refined, luxurious clothes that are scaled back in terms of embellishment, print, color etc. A lot of designers are tapping into something minimal and modern which is what Halston was always about.

I think a big part of why the collection received such mixed reviews was because it seemed like such an ideal time to reinvent the Halston label and Zanini didn't quite manage that.

your right spike , but im surprised he is out so fast , at least a few seasons , I liked his work .

[disco54]

I think Rachel Zoe wanted to over commercialize it but I like the direction in which Marco was going , IM quite disappointed they let him go.

[Meg]

I agree that designers really aren't getting the same chance to emerge. I mean, I only really saw one full collection from him. That's not enough to time to gauge what direction he could grow in. Halston is so tricky to revive anyway. It's so basic and so minimalistic that it's not going to be earth shattering in any way, especially considering so many people have appropriate Halston's style

[disco54]

Originally Posted by Meg

I agree that designers really aren't getting the same chance to emerge. I mean, I only really saw one full collection from him. That's not enough to time to gauge what direction he could grow in. Halston is so tricky to revive anyway. It's so basic and so minimalistic that it's not going to be earth shattering in any way, especially considering so many people have appropriate Halston's style

Actually to the contrary , the new Halston has been very successful in Europe and Asia , selfridges and net a porter sold out on most of the clothing . That was it ,Marco , didnt do the things what people associate with Halston , disco and movie star glamour , it was about minimalism with the updated dark ethos of 70s glamour but for today .

This is from www.handbag.uk

June 18.2008

In case you missed our post from March, Halston is now available at Selfridges, and according to those in-the-know, it is selling like hot cakes. Vogue reports that since hitting the store floor last week, the label has had British fashion fans in a frenzy with one customer alone spending £4,500 on pieces from the pre-collection.
Halston made its return to the scene at New York Fashion Week earlier this year, which was quickly followed by a deal with Net-a-porter.com to sell two of its runway pieces to the public. Within 45 minutes, the online retailer's stock sold out completely.
"The instant response from our customers is a reflection of the quality and desirability of Halston," said Anne Pitcher, Selfridges buying and merchandising director.
So what exactly have London buyers got their eyes on? A pair of thigh-high suede boots, a floor-length wool jersey dress and gold chain necklaces.

[Meg]

I actually never said that he wasn't selling or successful, just that he hadn't been given enough of a chance. I think there's much more to the Halston archives than 'movie star' glamour. Again, I think a lot of the designs that Zanini did were classic Halston. It was just the context of the setting that made people think of glamorous movies stars and Studio 54. But we see a lot of vintage Halston worn today and it's not all sparkly and sexy. And I do think a lot of people have appropriated what Halston is done. But if it's so selling so well it begs the question why they let the designer go.....

[disco54]

^^^^ its quite idiotic , that they let him go, at least let him designer for 2-3 season iMO , esp a brand which is so fledgling

[kimair]

rachel zoe might be out too...from nymag.com

Yesterday, we learned Halston's head designer, Marco Zanini, seems to be finished at the label, after designing just two collections. Reports have now emerged that Rachel Zoe is out the door, too. Zoe was hired as a creative consultant to advise on red-carpet and celebrity styling. But when she didn't show up to the label's fashion show in February, speculation ran rampant that she didn't see eye to eye creatively with Zanini. And Halston has yet to make an impact on the red carpet. But considering Zoe's got a clothing line, fragrance and reality series in the works, it might not be such a bad idea for her to step away for a little "me" time. How else will she successfully build the Rachel Zoe–branded empire the world's been longing for?

considering her alignment with halston, it is surprising that none of her clients wore it to any red-carpet events...

[disco54]

If Zoe is gone then the executives at Halston must be retarded because she was the only one having an issue.

[MUXU]

i think what marco was doing with the fw collection was to just have the collection sold, to bring in some income especially in a financial crisis like now. and from just having read the article on how Akris selling better than a lot of the spotlight brands just to show that what the halston executives are looking for, being red carpet glamour, doesnt fit with the current market situation.
the fw collection wasnt remarkable and it definitely didnt have red carpet spark but it sold well in europe and asia and not america. obviously halston wants to please the american market more than the other continents.
i mean, if the company let him go not only because his designs were not 'it' and that he's not bringing income...that is a reason but he IS bringing in income...i thought businessmen like that...