New York Autumn/Winter 2008

Halston
Marco Zanini’s debut at Halston, the iconic American label was one of those rare moments in fashion where he showed that not only does he get Halston, the man, the brand and its legacy, but also he knows where to take it.

Quoted as saying he ‘worships’ Halston, he managed to seamlessly blend Halston’s vision with his own to take it forward.

Confident, sublime, and subtle, everything had an innate elegance and smacked of American sportswear with a European hyper-sophisticated bent (Zanini’s background was in Milan with Lawrence Steele and most recently Versace). Often simplicity is the hardest thing to get right, but with great skill that is what he did.

In a bold move that is surely going to be watched by the industry (and probably mimicked soon enough) Halston together with online retailer Net-a-Porter are already selling two dresses straight off the runway for immediate delivery. For day: a belted wool jersey shirt-dress (Zanini says the belt doubles up as a cravat or scarf) and a silk jersey draped number, which works day and night.

Images: Catwalking.com