Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston

Theatrical Release Date: 2012 01 20 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 767685268704

Studio: New Video Group

Summary: Filmmaker Whitney Sudler-Smith reflects on the life and career of Halston, the celebrated fashion designer who clothed some of the most glamorous women of the 1970s. In addition to making sure that clients like Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy always looked their best, Halston also left a permanent mark on the fashion industry as the creator of the fabric Ultrasuede, and was known for being a notable fixture of the New York nightclub scene. Later, after selling his business for a mint, he watched as his hedonistic empire crumbled under the weight of Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" antidrug campaign. In 1990, Halston died of AIDS at age 57. Interviews with such friends, critics, and collaborators as Anjelica Huston, Stephen Burrows, Billy Joel, and Amy Fine Collins offer a complete picture of the man who changed the face of modern fashion, and did it in a style all his own. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Culture & Society

Features: cc
An interview with director Whitney Sudler-Smith and producer Adam Bardach, presented by American Express
Deleted scene: GQ interview

Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/29/2012

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 94 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston
1. Introduction [12:56]
2. Elegance and Simplicity [6:15]
3. The Costume Institute and the Beautiful People [5:38]
4. Fashion Ave, Warhol, and the Start of an Empire [6:39]
5. The King's Castle [11:35]
6. When Decadence Was Chic [7:34]
7. New York City Late 70s [5:54]
8. Blessing and Dressing Studio 54 [7:01]
9. The Halston Moment [5:09]
10. Return of Opulence and JC Penny [7:14]
11. Sad Irony [5:57]
12. The Demise [11:19]

Cammila Collar

Director Whitney Sudler-Smith was openly (and obviously) inspired to make Ultrasuede -- a documentary about iconic '70s designer Halston -- because of his own idyllic love for disco-era fashion and its most influential figure. But while this level of reverence on the part of inexperienced filmmakers often leads to amateurish tributes, Sudler-Smith never falls prey to this pitfall. On the contrary, the sheer range of topics that Sudler-Smith investigates in his analysis of Halston makes the film too interesting to dismiss. The narrative flows easily from discussions about Halston's innovative take on fabric, cut, and creative tone to insights about his personal and social lives. Even if you go into the movie with reservations about the director's choice to wear feathered hair and aviator sunglasses during most of his interviews, somewhere between the broad scope of appearances by Halston's peers and progenies and the copious amount of original footage and photographs featured in the film, you realize that Sudler-Smith has done his homework -- and earned the right to a little self-indulgence. Besides, he includes so much footage of himself being corrected and snipped at by his subject's closest friends and colleagues, he must have had a little self-deprecation in mind. Perhaps his impressive slew of interviewees could sense the fanboy in Sudler-Smith and didn't want him to paint the larger-than-life figure as nothing more than a Studio 54 impresario, but clearly this was never a real danger. We're talking about the man who dressed Jackie Kennedy and was the creator of the pillbox hat! Not to mention the originator of those shirtwaist, bias-cut dresses that have become not just hallmarks of '70s style, but hallmarks of the classic women's wardrobe. The multitude of angles that the doc takes on each facet of Halston (including his place in the 54 scene) is engrossing; he was clearly a brilliant designer with an uncanny talent for both fashion and chic marketing. It's no wonder the film is able to draw on everything from images of the 1973 Versailles Fashion Show (where Halston was the first American designer to break through in Europe) to relevant moments from The Love Boat. And of course, it doesn't hurt that Sudler-Smith seeks out and interviews any and all relevant personages. He speaks to designers (Diane Von Furstenberg, Stephen Burrows, Ralph Rucci), journalists (Andr? Leon Talley, Glenn O'Brien, Bob Colacello), Halston's models (Pat Cleveland, Anjelica Houston), close friends (Liza Minnelli, Adam and Andy Rapoport), unexpected celebrities who came into his sphere (Nile Rodgers, Billy Joel), and even business associates -- from the VP who ran his perfume division to the man he ordered his orchids from. What's amazing is that every single person interviewed has something interesting to say about the subject (the orchid man sold him upwards of $100,000 worth of flowers a year). It becomes clear throughout the movie that you don't have to be a fanboy or fashionista to appreciate the story of such a smart, flawed, fabulous man. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Glenn O'Brien  Actor 
Halston  Actor 
Christopher Franke  Composer (Music Score) 
Anne Goursaud  Producer 
Anne Goursaud  Screenwriter 
Edgar Rothermich  Composer (Music Score) 
Mark Urman  Executive Producer 
Nicholas Simon  Producer 
Shawn Simon  Executive Producer 
Whitney Sudler-Smith  Director 
Whitney Sudler-Smith  Producer 
Whitney Sudler-Smith  Screenwriter 
Adam Bardach  Producer 
Tim Maloney  Producer 
Whitney Sudler-Smith  Actor 
Liza Minnelli  Actor 
André Leon Talley  Actor 
Ralph Rucci  Actor 
Cathy Horyn  Actor 
Stephen Burrows  Actor 
Bob Colacello  Actor 
Pat Cleveland  Actor 
Anjelica Huston  Actor 
Nicky Haslam  Actor 
Boaz Mazor  Actor 
Billy Joel  Actor 
Nile Rodgers  Actor 
Phillip Bloch  Actor 
Ming Vauze  Actor 
Naeem Kahn  Actor 
Amy Fine Collins  Actor 
Diane Von Furstenberg  Actor 
Chris Makos  Actor 

Country: USA