
Back to All News
The Fashion Behind Halston': Bringing the Famed Designer's Clothes to Life
Netflix Staff
Entertainment
13 May 2021
Global
A Halston. Back in the 70s and 80s, everyone knew what made a piece of clothing from the famed designer so distinct. So when costume designer Jeriana San Juan was tasked with recreating these signature looks - and so many more - for the limited series about Halston's meteoric rise and shocking fall, the pressure was on. Thankfully, the costume designer was more than ready for the assignment. Ahead of the May 14th release of Halston, starring Ewan McGregor in the title role, we spoke with San Juan about being a lifelong fan, working with Halston's personal tailor to recreate his wardrobe and how Halston's work is still influencing fashion today.
Were you familiar with Halston's story and work when you first got involved with the show?
Yes, I first connected with the project because I'm such a fan of Halston's work. In my initial meetings with Dan Minahan, our fearless director, I gushed about my experience studying Halston's work in fashion design school - pouring over images of his collections in the library at school and looking through archival footage. It was exciting to do something that married my costume design knowledge with my fashion design background.
How did you approach dressing Halston in the show?
In researching Halston, one of the most incredible things was finding people who had known him personally and who wanted to help this project because they wanted to help their friend. I came to know Halstons personal style very intimately, and that began when I found a tailor named Gino Balsamo who worked at Halston Limited. He was the tailor in the shop assigned to make Halstons personal clothes. Halston only wore his own designs, and he wanted to wear fabrics that did all the things for him that they did for women; created ease, effortless strength, and effortless beauty. Halston had unique nuances in his clothes - he created these pants with no side seam and specific pocket placements. Gino actually came to my shop and worked with us to create and pattern clothes the same way that he did for Halston.
How did you collaborate with Ewan McGregor on Halston's costuming?
We worked very closely together not just on his costuming, but on the design process. He would come to the shop just to observe the tailors, or watch me do a fitting, to get a better idea of how a designer works. It was a very unique experience - we worked on how to pin clothes properly, how clothes are constructed and assembled, how to move through a workroom, and I even walked him through where my eyes go when I'm designing so he could better track his eyeline when he's designing as Halston in the show.
How did you source the key costumes for the show?
Most of the pieces in our show on our main characters are created from scratch. I found vintage dealers from every corner of the world, but vintage clothes are often not in fantastic shape, and I wanted to make sure the costumes fit with the same ease and pristine effortless style that defines Halston. There are also many original Halston pieces in the show. Halston's entire archive was disassembled when he left the company, but I was able to find pieces that were tucked away. Lesley Frowick, Halston's niece, had gifted a great deal of his work to Lipscomb University. I worked with a company called Toray International, the original manufacturer of Ultrasuede fabric, and they gave me a ton of Ultrasuede that was the same quality Halston used in his designing. We also worked with Tiffany & Co. to obtain all of the original Elsa Peretti jewelry.
What about Halston's work as a fashion designer was so groundbreaking?
There's an ease, a suaveness to his clothing - and even in his early work as a milliner. But if you look at the architecture and practical building of all those pieces, theyre actually quite complicated. Halstons work is very much like sculpture; he treated fabrics as his medium and manipulated them like a true artist. He would pleat, wrap, and use textiles in a way that was unconventional and celebrated a woman's figure instead of creating rigid tailoring that bound it. It was all about ease and softness, and that approach is still influencing fashion today.
Halston premieres May 14 on Netflix.
North America Stories
21/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/05/2026
For cinematographer Ashley Barron ACS ( Rivals , Dangerous Liaisons , Disney's Doctor Who ), setting the look of Netflix's How to Get to Heaven from ...
21/05/2026
Jean-Fran ois Hensgens, AFC, SBC, (Tueurs, Six Days in Spring, Le Fil) brings his signature visual approach to Cannes 2026 premiering biopic L'Affaire Marie...
21/05/2026
Beeble launches Canvas, a node-based AI compositor for VFX and Virtual Productio...
21/05/2026
Shelly Johnson Elected President of American Society of Cinematographers
Brie Clayton May 20, 2026
0 Comments
The American Society of Cinematographers...
21/05/2026
ARRI expands Management Board to accelerate next phase of growth and innovation
Brie Clayton May 20, 2026
0 Comments
ARRI expands its Management Board...
20/05/2026
True to the Music City theme, the Tennessee Titans plan to make live music a prominent fixture on game days at the new venue
Reflecting the continuing converge...
20/05/2026
The long-term goal is innovation for the next generation of hockey rinks at both the professional and the community level
The National Hockey League (NHL) toda...
20/05/2026
End-users and vendors alike work toward cost-effective yet high-quality solution...
20/05/2026
The National Football League has announced that Nashville will host Super Bowl LXIV in 2030 at the new Nissan Stadium. The announcement was made at the NFL Spri...
20/05/2026
The NFL has announced that the 2028 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light will take place in Minnesota, uniting fans from around the world to celebrate one of the mo...
20/05/2026
As professional AV workflows continue to evolve, expectations around audio, video, networking, and control are rising rapidly. At InfoComm 2026 in Las Vegas, La...
20/05/2026
Haivision will showcase its latest innovations at InfoComm 2026, taking place fr...
20/05/2026
A Rotating Detonation Engine being hot fire tested at Purdue University's Zu...
20/05/2026
A U.S. Army VAMPIRE system, assigned to Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 51st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 7th Infantry Division/Multi-Domain Command - Pacific ...
20/05/2026
Cable Captures Only Monthly Increase Among Viewing Categories in March, Earns it...
20/05/2026
April brought a symbolic decrease in the overall time spent in front of television screens. On average, Poles watched video content for 3 hours and 51 minutes a...
20/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/05/2026
The Royal Television Society Technology Centre today announces the launch of the RTS Technology Awards 2026, celebrating excellence, innovation and achievement ...
20/05/2026
In the heart of London's financial district, the new purpose-built Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre invites audiences to experience Suzanne Collins' inte...
20/05/2026
LiveU, the leader in live IP-video solutions, today announced that production powerhouse BCC Live successfully deployed the new LU900Q intelligent production un...
20/05/2026
Nella Mente di Narciso Docuseries Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow
Brie Clayton May 19, 2026
0 Comments
PYXIS 6K full frame camera and DaVinci Resolve ...
20/05/2026
Beeble launches Canvas, a node-based AI compositor for VFX and Virtual Productio...
20/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/05/2026
TLC Announces All-Star Comedy Line-Up for Mock the Week: Summer Specials' o...
20/05/2026
Back to All News
One Hundred Years of Solitude Concludes This August, With Part...
20/05/2026
Back to All News
Beloved NHK Dramas to Stream on Netflix Worldwide Starting June 22
Entertainment
20 May 2026
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboard
Netflix...
19/05/2026
Cisco and the USGA have announced a multiyear extension of their partnership, which began in 2018. Cisco serves as the Official Technology Partner of the USGA, ...
19/05/2026
Urban Edge Network (UEN), a streaming platform for NAIA sports, has announced a partnership with Spiideo to provide streaming and production tools to UEN's ...
19/05/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) will provide live coverage of all 900 Roland-Garros matches across its platforms beginning with qualifiers on May 18. In Europe, 21...
19/05/2026
Tubi, Fox Corporation's free streaming service, has announced the launch of the FIFA World Cup 2026 FOX Hub, a dedicated destination for World Cup programmi...
19/05/2026
Telef nica, in collaboration with Sony, has conducted a 5G connectivity trial at the Movistar Arena in Spain using the 26 GHz millimetre wave (mmWave) band. The...
19/05/2026
Ross Production Services (RPS) has installed a Calrec Argo M console into its new Hypermax-1 remote production truck, replacing one of three Argo S consoles pre...
19/05/2026
Panasonic Projector and Display Corporation has announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares of UK-based media technology company Hive Media Control Ltd. (HI...
19/05/2026
Globecast has announced the completion of a nine-month renovation of its Singapore facility, converting it from a traditional linear broadcast operation into a ...
19/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced a three-year enterprise agreement with Phoenix Broadc...
19/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that Watch Brasil, a streaming platform operating across Brazil and Europe since 2018, has replaced its legacy systems with Bitmovin'...
19/05/2026
Ateme has announced the migration of Dish Home Nepal's Nepal Premier League (NPL) streaming infrastructure to Ateme's TITAN Live solution deployed on Ak...
19/05/2026
CMSI provided workflow, media management, and HDR support for ESPN during coverage of the NCAA Gymnastics Semifinals and Championships. The company supported fi...
19/05/2026
In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into the six production-technologies nominated for this year's George Wensel Tec...
19/05/2026
In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into the six production-technologies nominated for this year's George Wensel Tec...
19/05/2026
Featuring a fully IP infrastructure, Supershooter 11 is intended for large-scale events. Enabling remote and distributed workflows, Supershooter 65 joins the RE...
19/05/2026
By Jessica Herndon
The line wrapped around the building outside Denver's La...
19/05/2026
When all companies in the market are allowed to compete under the same set of ru...
19/05/2026
Battle-proven technology withstands electronic warfare threats across air, maritime surface and subsea domains....
19/05/2026
WESCAM MX-Series EO/IR systems provide high-precision targeting across domains, including counter-UAS applications...
19/05/2026
Champaign, IL - March 16, 2026 Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufa...
19/05/2026
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. April 16, 2026 - Cobalt Digital today announced a partnership ...