HALSTON x NETFLIX

The tech giant is collaborating with Halston, the American luxury brand, to create a 10-piece evening-wear collection on the occasion of the launch of the homonymous series on Netflix that pays homage to the life of designer Roy Halston Frowick.

NETFLIX EMBRACES FASHION

It’s not the first time Netflix has explored the world of fashion. In 2019, it partnered with H&M to create a line of clothes that replicated looks from the hit show Stranger Things. With this Halston collection, Netflix is testing the waters in high fashion.

Before filming Halston, Netflix reached out to the clothing brand to gain access to its archive. Based on archival pieces worn by famous Halstonettes like Liza Minnelli, Jeriana San Juan -the show’s costume designer – created the outfits that would appear on-screen.  

In February 2021, after the filming wrapped, Netflix reached out to the brand to collaborate on a luxurious ten-piece evening wear collection inspired by archival hits and original costumes featured throughout the series.  Robert Rodriguez, the label’s chief creative officer, worked closely with San Juan to figure out which outfits to reissue from the dozens featured in the show. “It was an opportunity to bring back iconic gowns that Halston himself created, but reinterpret them to make them more modern,” says Rodriguez.

The fluidity and minimalism of Halston’s dresses, the shine and the prints masterfully translate the brand’s atmosphere with an updated touch. As the designer’s creative director, Robert Rodriguez, revealed for PopSugar, “I modernized the silhouettes, while the fabrics brought new colours, but I kept the overall aesthetic similar”.

Rodriguez joined Halston in November 2019, after a decade and a half of running his own eponymous brand. His task was to re-brand Halston and make it relevant again after its star had dimmed considerably from its heyday 50 years ago when Frowick was still at its helm. Rodriguez hopes this Netflix partnership will give the brand a much-needed boost. “Netflix has such enormous reach that the show is going to introduce a younger generation to the brand that did not know Halston,” he says. “It will bring the Halston name back.”

Netflix approached this collaboration as a marketing partnership that will allow both brands to cross-promote each other. In a future world, though, Netflix could create a new revenue stream by inviting viewers to shop directly as they watch shows. You wouldn’t just crave for the gorgeous outfits in The Queen’s Gambit or Emily in Paris—you could click to buy them immediately.