
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 27, 1990                   TAG: 9003270350
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO                                LENGTH: Short

DESIGNER HALSTON DEAD AT 57

The famed fashion designer Halston, who began his career as a hatmaker and became one of the guiding forces in fashion, has died at the age of 57.

Halston, born Roy Halston Frowick, died in his sleep at 11:21 p.m. Monday at Pacific Presbyterian Hospital, nursing supervisor David Rein said.

His brother, Robert Frowick, said death came after a long battle with cancer.

Halston designed the pillbox hat worn by Jacqueline Kennedy at her husband's presidential inauguration in 1963, and later pioneered the use of Ultrasuede.

Known around the world for his originality and flair, Halston designed clothes for such celebrities as Kennedy, later Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; Lauren Bacall, Liza Minnelli and Bianca Jagger.

His designs were characterized by a classical simplicity and the use of fine materials, and were considered an American response to European eclecticism.

Halston was born April 23, 1932, in Des Moines, Iowa, and attended Indiana University and the Chicago Art Institute. He began making hats while still in college.

In 1958, he went to work for Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City as a milliner, and later began designing Bergdorf's ready-to-wear fashions. He opened his own couture house in 1968.

He added a ready-to-wear range, called Halston International, in 1970, and Halston Originals in 1972. His business was acquired by Norton Simon in 1973, and Halston later added menswear and a perfume to his line.

by CNB