Reviving Halston's Glory - Kevan Hall

Aldore D. Collier

KEVAN HALL is top designer of famous fashion house

AS a child growing up in Detroit in the 1960s, Kevan Hall fell in love with Motown. He loved the music, but what bowled him over was the seductive beauty of the gowns he saw Martha Reeves and Diana Ross wear on programs like The Ed Sullivan Show.

"I'd see Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Diana Ross and the Supremes on Ed Sullivan and I would pretend to re-design their costumes and wardrobes," he recalls. "I was 7 and was always interested in fashion and design."

And he has remained focused on that love of design. Now, some 35 years after seeing his early inspirations on variety shows, Hall is the design and creative director of the House of Halston, one of America's most legendary and luxurious names in high fashion.

As design and creative director, Hall creates the concepts and designs the fall and spring collections from scratch. He also has the ultimate creative say in the other 18 products that Halston now licenses, including sleepwear, shoes and hats.

Halston, the man, achieved legendary status for his elegant blending of casual and dressy. He was known as a hard partyer and cultivated friendships with Liza Minnelli and Elizabeth Taylor before succumbing to AIDS in 1990. The name Halston maintained its prominence following his death, but his empire was left with tremendous uncertainty. Fashion industry observers wondered who, if anyone, could bring the house back to its trendsetter status.

Kevan Hall was not what they expected. He was not a New Yorker, nor did he have a name well known among the East Coast fashion establishment. He was well-known in California retail circles, but hadn't really penetrated markets east of the Rocky Mountains.

But in 1998, his style won over all the naysayers along Seventh Avenue, the New York street known as Fashion Avenue. "People were skeptical of me in the beginning only because they didn't know who I was. I had established a business in California and sold to Saks, I. Magnin and all these major stores, but I wasn't part of the fiber of the New York fashion world. When I showed that first collection, that put to rest the doubt."

And it did so in a big way. He wowed the fashion journalists and buyers with chic and simple gowns in neutral colors. "My first show was in spring of 1998 and it all came together, the beading and the fabrics to make a beautiful collection. I had an enthusiastic response." A representative of Neiman-Marcus and the president of the ultra-chic retailer Bergdorf-Goodman were among those who went backstage to congratulate him.

Now, suddenly, he's an insider! Well-respected among fashion writers, he is hailed as a potential long-term savior of the House of Halston.

Hall, who's near 40, was one of those who seemed to latch on to a beautiful dream early on and managed to never waver. He majored in design in high school and won first place as "Designer of Tomorrow" in a scholarship contest sponsored by Los Angeles' Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM). When he graduated from FIDM he received the Peacock Award for "Outstanding Fashion Designer," which led to his becoming an assistant to noted California Designer Harriet Selwyn.

It was while he was a student at the Fashion Institute that he met his wife, Deborah. "I met her when I first moved to L.A.," he says with a nostalgic grin. "We were in school together. We were just great friends and then it grew into more."

After working with a number of California designers, Hall and Deborah (whom he calls Debbie) struck out on their own in 1982. They put together a collection of 15 pieces, including cashmere suits and silk blouses. Then they took their show on the road, making appointments at all the high-end stores in the state.

"We made appointments and stopped at every fine and specialty store all the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles. And the response was fantastic! They gave us orders and bought the whole collection. From there, we were in business. We knew we had a viable product."

Then, the really hard work kicked in. Where would he get the money to put all those elegant pieces together with all the costly fabrics and ship them to all the stores? Their combined savings was extremely meager.

So, they borrowed the money and, with the help of a friend, put together private showings to groups of well-to-do women. In his case, it turned out that the women who were shown his outfits were the wives of some powerful Hollywood executives. "That money turned out to be what I used to produce the orders."

Even before becoming design and creative director, Hall had a relationship with Halston. He had done some consulting work and had helped design the company's luxury line in 1996.

"I had been at Halston for a year and a half. Then, I left and moved back to California to pursue some other interests," he points out. "I had an apartment in New York and I went back to New York to close down and that's when the opportunity was presented to me. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to design and continue the legacy."

He wasn't nervous because he had worked with them before and had a lengthy career in designing. The real challenge, he knew, would be to put together a line that would wow not only department store buyers and journalists, but women with lots of discretionary income, then turn around a few months later and do it all over again.

"The pressure has gotten more intense because, fortunately, I've had successful collections," he says. "But, as you continue to have successful collections, the expectations get higher. You always want to come out with something that's exciting and new for your customers."

His outfits have been worn by Natalie Cole, Lynn Whitfield, Meg Ryan, Salma Hayek, Joan Rivers and Dana Delaney.

Beyond celebrities, who are the best advertising a designer could have, Hall described his customer as "women who travel a lot, are more worldly in terms of fashion, those who look for simplicity, comfort and ease. She wants to be really sophisticated, glamorous and sexy at all times." And that, he says, transcends all geographic boundaries.

His work is primarily based in New York, but he has to travel all over the world to search for fabrics as well as inspiration. He says he might be at a museum or just walking down the street with his wife and kids when he'll get inspired to start sketching. "It all starts with ideas, then sketches, quick sketches," he explains. "Then, from there, there are fabrics involved. I travel at least twice a year to Paris shopping for fabrics. From the time I have the idea in my head 'til the time it's actually on the runway, it may be a course of three to four months. It's a quick turnaround."

Because their daughter Asia is 9 and son Evan is 4, Debbie no longer works with him. His family remains based in Los Angeles and he travels to L.A. at least twice a month. The family travels to New York during school breaks to spend time with him.

He is quick to admit that he has been truly blessed. And he knows that other Black designers who are capable and have been behind-the-scenes for years, directing collections and have made some of these houses into mega-corporations. "Of course, it happens to Whites too," he says. "I'm just fortunate."

Unlike Halston himself, Hall pretty much spends free time just relaxing with his family. He has an older sister back in Detroit and his older brother is actor/director Vondie Curtis Hall, one of the stars of the TV show Chicago Hope. "I'm very proud of him," Kevan says. "I always wanted to be like my brother. He was always so well-liked, so unaffected."

Although Hall's job creates tremendous stress and pressures, he says it's all worth it when he sees elegant, happy women wearing ideas that came from his mind and imagination.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group