Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston

I'd wanted to see this since I first heard about it. It was playing on a streaming service and started - enthusiastically - to watch.

There were warning signs to how bad this world be almost instantly.

The VO - sine by the market of this - started off on the world foot when he's doing his introduction.

This is supposed to be a documentary about THE preeminent American designer, Halston.

The dummy's very first words were, 'the 70's had it all; drugs, sex and disco....' then he says how he saw pictures of this person, Halston all over and he was '...always surrounded by these gorgeous chicks...'

My stomach was turning.

He starts off with an... Interviewer - and I use the word lightly - with Liza Minelli.

She invites him into her gorgeous (Halston decorated) aspirant, and as she's taking, saying how after he died she'd given a memorial, this oaf interrupts and says, 'did you sing?'

Liza was nice enough bit to smack this idiot. She politely said this wasn't about her, but him - her deceased friend. She went on to say that this filmmaker should 'go so research'.

The next interview with André Leon Talley (I'd you sunny know who he is this isn't a documentary for you, either), who - as he's briefly explaining how Halston started as a milliner, was discovered by Diana Vreeland.

At this, the nabob says, 'who's that?'

This was ONLY five minutes in.

I quickly turned this garbage off.

Angrily, I might add.

Part of my anger is, how did this dummy manage to get such good placement for what is an amateurish, terribly researched piece of garbage?!?! . I'd really hope that someone who has a background in fashion or an interest in it (at least!) can make a documentary about this iconic designer.

And put this piece in the trash.

A documentary about Halston could be so great! Sigh. Unfortunately, this film seems to be poorly spliced together with interviews (if you could call them interviews) of some of the people who knew Halston in the fashion world, and others who were notably closest to him like Liza Minelli. The Good: Some great vintage photographs of Halston and models dressed in his clothes mostly during the late 70s disco scene. Some video clips of Halston in the early 1980s. Also the recollections of model Pat Cleveland were quite interesting and somewhat moving.

The Bad: There were "interviews" with the filmmaker's mother, music stars Billy Joel, Nile Rodgers and a few others that should have been edited. Liza Minelli's naive (untruthful?) recollections of Studio 54 and Halston's free-time seem frankly incredible. The Dupont twins obviously have some great knowledge about Halston and Studio 54, but the moderator rushed the conversation and miniscule information was gleaned. The rest of these interviews, with some greatly notable people, were all too brief and all over the place. A quick standup interview (who didn't even take the time to sit down) with Ming Vauze scratched the surface of a torrid tormented relationship of Halston with Victor Hugo, and the end of Halstons life in San Francisco while he suffered from AIDS.

The Ugly: Liza Minelli. Even the great Halston wasn't able to make her look attractive in any fashion, or daylight! Thus he was frequently seen with her out under the flashing colored disco lights of night. Andy Warhol. Hideous friend of Halston was shown in numerous photographs, but we'll not know after watching this documentary how close the two were, how well they got along and what their common interests were.

Netflix series' grade is 7.5 that is almost completely formed by unfilled, insufficient material. This documentary focused on his real side, his ability, his professional history, not about his personal life that is mentioned just because rating. This project reflects the true, he was a good man. Not a toxic, egoist, grumpy, brutal fiction char.

Guys, it is not easy to find and arrange this archive, this people. I don't understand why there is a big pressure in comments. Producer mentions from the beginning about his interest in searching Halston and did this with an amateur style. Also a crucial note, this is the first cinematic project was made about Halston. It would be amazing to see Halston in more projects:/

Finally, I got beautiful memories, photos, videos and new informations, insights about great Halston. Good job. Thank you so much🙏👏 Don't miss!

I don't know much about the person who made this Halston documentary, except that his hair color kept changing throughout the interviews.d

After seeing "Halston" the miniseries, I looked forward to this. The interviewer wasn't well prepared. The interviews were too off the cuff and badly edited. For instance, someone kept answering his cell phone - this should have been edited out. And what a jerk anyway.

I did like the Studio 54 section - it brought back a lot of memories for me since I lived in NYC at the time. I wasn't part of that scene but the disco music etc. And the rehash of that era was fun. I also loved the clips of Halston.

I did like Liza's interviews throughout the documentary.

Mostly it was a waste of film. I guess from reading the reviews the interviewer had money and was able to get this produced somehow. Sloppy.

Stephen Burrows, the African-American Designer appears in this documentary, not the comedic storyteller listed.

I watched this after the recent Netflix series "Halston", and appreciated it as a companion piece. But I do agree with previous reviews regarding the director's interviews with Liza Minelli and Andre Leon Talley....very cringey.