Weinstein buys Halston and hires Rachel Zoe

[softgrey]

it's no secret that Rachel Zoe is a close friend of the Weinstein clan. Consider her open desire to design for a major "fashion-house" (I believe that is how she said it in an issue of Elle) and the fact that she collects vintage Halston and it seems pretty likely that she could be behind this. It will certainly be VERY literal, or at least what Rachel Zoe thinks Halston should be all about... studio 54 goddess dresses, snake motifs, leopard, sequins, etc

i was thinking the same thing!!!

and now it is confirmed!!...

wwd.com

Thursday, March 15, 2007
Fashion Scoops: Zoe To Halston... On Sail... Croc Concert...
Score two for Harvey Weinstein in the fashion arena. Stylist Rachel Zoe will sit on the Halston advisory board along with Tamara Mellon and act as a creative consultant for the brand, Zoe confirmed Wednesday.

 

[Liberty Bell]

Small wonder that Harvey is pumping up Sienna Miller's little tabloid career as best he can. Perhaps they will wander down the runway together, and fall off the edge!!! Ick. Loathesome people...

 

[softgrey]

hollywood is hijacking the fashion industry!!!...

 

[LibertyRose]

Well, 'creative consultant' is better than creative director/head designer. It's a more limited role. Enough to pad Zoe's resume, but deficient in terms of stamping her personal style all over the collections.

 

[novella]

^ That's good to know.

I can't say that I'm surprised that they hired Rachel Zoe.

 

[Scott]

god-awful choice there. if ever there was somebody who was so overrated and talentless it would be rachel zoe. BORING!

exactly as you say,softie...being hijacked by hollywood. it's just as depressing as being controlled by mega-branded suits.

 

[style_expert]

Of all people, they pick HER

 

[UneVieEnOr]

I don't like any of the houses you listed, I simply think they have a lot of reputation because of their status and logo, not because they make good clothes. In my ideal world, when a designer retires or dies, his/her fashion house/brand should go with him/her. If we think of a fashion designer as an artist, then why would there be anything to justify that after he/she is gone, someone else uses his/her name to create something? Why isn't Picasso or Van Gogh still working then? Of course we can now get into the discussion about is fashion design an art form, but as I said, this is only how I think. I think of fashion design as an art form, and it is inappropriate to take someone's name and work and pretend you are the creator of it. That's just how I think. I realise it might not be the most business-wise way to think, but that's how I think. You might not think to same way, and I am fine with that.

Besides, the awful crap called Halston of today does no justice to Halston's work IMO.

I agree with you 100%

 

[Miss Dalloway]

This could be great;if different people would be involved.This way i am beyond teriffied by the desings they will produce.

And i certainly dont agree that the fashion houses should close when the designers dies,well sort of.
Like Mutterlein wrote;in cases as Balenciaga who closed his house before he died,to open and revive it again is not axceptable imo.
But the point that Mutterlein raised,about being a way to keep the name of the designer and therefore his work from fading to obscurity is a valid and very good one!Yes not alot of people know who Poiret, Lelong, Schiaparelli,Madame Gres,Vionnet were,or even how magnificent and important their role is in fashion history.
But does that mean we should bring them back for puropse of milking more money out of their names?Can you say Sophia Kokosalaki?!I thought it could work at first,but the new collection looks just bad and unworthy of the name.The desinger that was that important contributor of fashion progress and is still influencing every desinger,to bring it back was a bad idea.Everyone would fall falt on their face,trying.

I think that houses that were kept alive and working shortly or right away after the desinger died like;Chanel,Dior.etc and survived,deserve their place no matter how different they are today.

In this case,we all know what its about;Harvey Weinstein trying to make more money and venturing in different aerias of buisness.

 

[kimair]

here's more from wwd...

But even before she became known to mainstream media, Zoe was a Halston fan and avid collector of the designer's vintage gowns. "I've been collecting it for as long as I can remember. I grab them whenever I see them because it's like buying a piece of history. I love the aesthetic and that energy of his time period. It's always something I've channeled subconsciously, so this is a natural decision to make and I'm really ecstatic about bringing the brand back to where it should be."

In her new role, Zoe will help install the new creative team and oversee the fashion shows. "Tamara and I are a team in this, and we share the same vision," she said.

Do they also agree about the same designers? Sources speculated that the Weinstein Co. and Hilco paid between $22 million and $27 million for the label. Ever since the deal was signed on Monday, there has been much talk in fashion circles about who would get the design job at Halston. The new owners are said to be keen to bring in Narciso Rodriguez, though it remained unclear whether discussions with the designer had taken place. It is widely known in industry circles that Rodriguez is unhappy with his current manufacturing agreement with Aeffe and is said to be looking for new opportunities, though that may not extend beyond the realm of his own label.

 

[Meg]

For some reason I can't imagine narciso getting along with rachel zoe and tamara mellon but i don't know why. He probably does! I don't think he'd be that bad at halston. Also that doesn't seem like very much for the Halston label....

 

[Guessgirl96]

Mutterlein, well said! I completly agree with you. Rachel zoe designing for halson seems like such a disgrace to the house though. Rahcel zoe is far from a talented designer, she should just start her own line if she really wants to design. I wonder if people would take it anymore seriosly than any other celeb line just becuase of the name? Or would the fact that it's rachel zoe designing over shadow that?

 

[Spike413]

I hadn't noticed this new development before and I'm utterly pissed that they hired that homoginization-promoting hack of a stylist to sit on the creative board of any label, let alone one as iconic as Halston.

Now, the Narciso thing I could actually see, if he was appointed to revive the Halston name, it just may work.

God, I can just see it now, Lohan and co. donning Halston and it becoming like another overplayed, overhyped flash in the pan label.

Roy's probably turning.

 

[Meg]

^
they already did don Halston? For awhile last year that's all they practically wore. GG - Zoe isn't designing for them. Just 'directing' the 'creative team'

 

[Guessgirl96]

^ oh I see, I missed that before! Either way I'm curious to see how this turns out.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

These dresses will be generic celeb dresses, but thats not a terrible thing. They'll still be pretty; just really generic.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

What happend with halston? I hear about it sometimes but never knew much about it.

He died from AIDS in like 90 or 91.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

I like how everyone here has such a Chicken Little "The Sky is Falling" mentality. No one said Mellon or Zoe were going to be designers...they are only advisors. Weinstein's broad is content with Marchesa. They bought the label and have to get everything set up and reorganized in order to make the company a fertile ground for the desinger they choose (I've heard Narciso).

 

[liberty33r1b]

a halston documentary should be interesting at least....

 

[augustus]

Oh No. I hope it doesn't turn into another Biba...or something like that