Halston

Halston is an American fashion house founded by the designer Roy Halston Frowick, whose name became shorthand for 1970s glamour. Within the beauty world, the label is known chiefly as a fragrance brand: its self-titled women's perfume, launched in 1975 in a teardrop bottle by Elsa Peretti, grew into one of the era's defining scents. The fashion house dates its move from millinery into clothing to 1966 [2], while the first Halston perfume followed nearly a decade later in 1975 [6] — two distinct milestones that are sometimes blurred together.

The fragrance line remains in production today and is owned by Revlon, which holds the rights through its Elizabeth Arden fragrance division [3]. The apparel side operates separately under license, with an active storefront that describes Halston as a luxury lifestyle name pairing its heritage with a modern look.

Roy Halston Frowick first made his name as a milliner. He gained early recognition in Chicago before moving to New York City in the late 1950s [3], and in 1966 he expanded from hats into clothing, establishing the Halston label. He became known for reworking jumpsuits, shirtdresses and caftans in fabrics such as jersey, cashmere and ultrasuede, building a reputation for fluid, minimalist American design.

The designer opened his first boutique on Madison Avenue in 1968 and launched a ready-to-wear collection the following year [3]. By the 1970s he had become a fixture of New York nightlife, closely tied to Studio 54 and to a circle that included Andy Warhol, Bianca Jagger, Elizabeth Taylor and Liza Minnelli. Newsweek called him "the premier fashion designer in America."

Through the 1970s the company expanded aggressively into licensing, putting the Halston name on perfumes, luggage, home furnishings, wigs, uniforms and accessories. That licensing strategy is what carried the brand into beauty. The first fragrance, simply called Halston (later marketed as Halston Classic), arrived in 1975. A men's cologne, Halston Z-14, followed in 1976 [7].

The fragrance business reached a substantial scale. By the early 1980s, according to Wikipedia, Halston Enterprises reportedly generated annual sales above $150 million, of which around $40 million came from cosmetics [3]. The company headquarters moved to the top of the Olympic Tower on Fifth Avenue in 1978, and relocated from New York City to Los Angeles in 2012.

Halston's ownership has changed hands repeatedly. The business was acquired by Norton Simon Inc. in 1973, passed to Revlon in 1986, and was bought by Borghese in 1992. In 1996 the holdings were split: the sportswear manufacturer Tropic Tex purchased the Halston clothing license, while Revlon retained the rights to Halston fragrances [3].

That split explains the brand's current structure, in which apparel and fragrance are run separately. The fragrance rights sit with Revlon, whose portfolio also includes Elizabeth Arden, Cutex, Elizabeth Taylor and Britney Spears scents, among others. Because Revlon acquired Elizabeth Arden in 2016, the Elizabeth Arden fragrance division noted by some sources as Halston's distributor is part of Revlon itself; the two descriptions point to the same owner [5].

Halston is positioned around minimalist, glamorous American style drawn from Roy Halston Frowick's 1970s work. The current apparel business presents itself as a luxury lifestyle brand that mixes the founder's heritage codes with a modern aesthetic, and uses the tagline "Curated to captivate" [1].

The original fragrance is framed as a lasting American classic. Wikiparfum describes it as "classic, graceful, contemporary, sensual, and confident," a scent it says "has been loved by women of all ages all over the world." The perfume is also strongly tied to the disco era and to Studio 54, the cultural setting in which it first appeared [5].

The signature beauty product is the 1975 women's eau de toilette, Halston [6]. It is a chypre fragrance whose profile centres on peach, amber, jasmine, oakmoss and patchouli, and it was housed in the curved teardrop bottle designed by jeweller Elsa Peretti — a bottle that, by one account, is still used today. The perfume's creation is generally credited to Bernard Chant; Wikiparfum additionally lists Max Gavarry as a co-perfumer [4].

The men's line opened with Halston Z-14, a woody cologne launched in 1976. A later men's range, Halston Man, also forms part of the licensed fragrance catalogue.

The 1975 Halston fragrance is widely cited as a commercial landmark. One editorial review reports that it "went on to be the second highest selling perfume in history only behind Chanel No. 5," and notes figures of roughly $85 million in sales over its first two years, with the scent never going out of production [5]. Such claims come from fragrance press rather than audited figures, but they reflect the perfume's standing within its category.

Halston is an active brand. The apparel storefront at halston.com is operating under license and carries a 2026 copyright [1], and the original Halston fragrance line has been produced continuously since 1975. The scents are currently owned and distributed by Revlon through its Elizabeth Arden fragrance division. Within a beauty context, Halston functions as a legacy fragrance house rather than an active developer of new cosmetics.