Netflix’s Halston: where to buy Halston fashion, the best Halston dresses, and his iconic fragrance

Starring Ewan McGregor in a career-topping turn as the titular fashion designer, and produced and co-written by television uber-producer Ryan Murphy (The People Vs OJ Simpson, Glee, American Horror Story, a million other things), it’s fabulousness distilled into five hours of television. Pop open some fizz and settle in for some stylish fun. 

Set in the glamorous world of the New York City party scene of the 70s and 80s, Halston ascends to fashion Valhalla by designing sexy, sensual dresses for the glitterati – Liza Minnelli, Anjelica Huston, Bianca Jagger – snorting enough coke to fell a rhino and living it up at Studio 54. 

The show is fashioned-filled, gorgeous to look at, celebrity-packed and more than a touch scandalous. But there will be one primary takeaway – if you weren’t already in love with them – you’ll be dying to dress in Halston (or Halston inspired) designs.  

What do Halston designs look like? What is the essence of Halston design?

Think of Halston design, think of clean, sleek, slinky lines. They’re flowy yet cling to the right places. The man himself describes the aesthetic best. Speaking in Vogue in 1980, he said “I think, probably, it’s that I cleaned up American fashion at a particular point in time It was just getting rid of all the extra details that didn’t work—bows that didn’t tie, buttons that didn’t button, zippers that didn’t zip, wrap dresses that didn’t wrap. I’ve always hated things that don’t work.

“Whether it was cashmere, jersey or chiffon, it was about a total look. Clothes should be practical, glamorous, functional and spare.”

Can I buy Halston dresses in the UK?

Yes – there are designs released under the Halston name that subscribe to the basic tenets of Halston fashion – draping materials, cool, sleek necklines, bold colours, soft, tactile fabrics.

Better still, Halston Heritage sells dresses fashioned on the vintage designs of Halston himself. That means jumpsuits, draped gowns, asymmetric dresses, and flowing kaftans.

The Halston range is available via The Outnet. You can also pick up some gorgeous, reasonably priced Halston Heritage pieces from eBay.

See below for our favourite picks. 

Do they still make Halston perfume?

Episode three of Halston memorably depicts the designer’s creation and marketing of Halston’s perfume. After an emotional consultation with ‘nose’ (professional parfumier) Adele, played by Vera Fermiga, they collaborate to create a perfume that is sensual, feminine and musky.

His beloved muse Elsa Peretti designs the bottle (at great cost) in the shape of a tear-drop – and the perfume is a staggering success.

If you want to buy the perfume, you can. With bitter herbs and mint, leavened by the sexiness of wood and oakmoss, it’s a dusky, filthy perfume – one that it’s easy to see the appeal of.

It has the same composition of the 1975 perfume, meaning it features top notes of mint, melon, green leaves, peach and bergamot; middle notes of carnation, orris root, jasmine, marigold, ylang-ylang, cedar and rose; and base notes of sandalwood, amber, patchouli, musk, oakmoss, vetiver and incense.

Halston – the documentary

If the Netflix series has you gasping to learn more about Halston, Frédéric Tcheng directed an excellent (fashion heavy) look at the legendary designer, also called Halston, in 2019.

Great Halston designs available in the UK