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Halston Lets Its Head Designer Go

Marco ZaniniPhoto: WireImage

Marco Zanini, we hardly knew ye. The designer who brought the Halston label back to life at New York Fashion Week in February reportedly no longer works there. WWD reports Zanini is said to have designed the label’s spring collection, which will walk at Fashion Week in September. The label is on the hunt for a new designer and could announce one before the September show.

Halston was revived thanks to the efforts of Jimmy Choo’s Tamara Mellon, Harvey Weinstein, and stylist Rachel Zoe. Things seemed to be going swimmingly leading up to the first show in February. In a revolutionary move Net-A-Porter signed on to sell Halston pieces online the day after the show walked. But Zoe’s absence from the fashion show was a red flag something was awry. Then the collection received mixed reviews; critics felt it wasn’t fresh enough. Speculation surfaced that Zoe, a member of Halston’s creative advisory board, disagreed with Zanini about the direction of the line.

Though American retailers didn’t have a voracious appetite for Halston, items sold out on Net-A-Porter. Asian and European retailers also responded favorably. Last month London’s Selfridge’s opened an 800-square-foot in-store Halston boutique. Halston’s CEO even told WWD at the opening party for the store that the brand planned to branch into sunglasses, swimwear, jeans, and candles (go figure).

So will Zanini’s collection walk in September? Will Zoe sit front row? Will Halston candles infiltrate Upper East Side townhouses? The suspense mounts.

Quick Hook at Halston: Creative Chief Zanini Said to Be Out at Label [WWD]

Halston Lets Its Head Designer Go