Halston and Liza Minnelli were inseparable. He, in his minimalist style and sunglasses, and she, in his glamorous creations. They appeared everywhere together: smiling and dancing at Studio 54, posing at galas and premieres, even holding hands at the memorial service for Andy Warhol. Two dazzling talents, utterly dominant in their own creative fields, connected almost instantaneously.

Halston, the fashion designer who changed the course of history for how the world perceived American designers, came up with a brilliant, for the time, business plan: He had a large and world-renowned clientele. “If a woman wears my clothes and is photographed in them, it gets attention and maybe other people want to look like that,” he said in a television interview. The casual chic creator met, in the mid-1960s, the then 19-year-old Liza Minnelli, at a time when both were trying to stand out in their respective fields. “When I met Halston, I remember him talking and me listening … and then saying ‘okay, I got it,'” Minnelli recounted in the 2019 documentary Halston. “We were inseparable from then on.”

Halston: The Designer Who Changed the Course of Fashion History

Halston, the fashion designer who transformed how the world viewed American designers, conceived an ingenious business strategy for his time: he built a vast, globally renowned clientele. “If a woman wears my clothes and is photographed in them, it draws attention, and maybe others will want to look like her,” he said in a television interview. The creator of casual chic met the then 19-year-old Liza Minnelli in the mid-1960s, a time when both were striving to stand out in their respective fields. “When I first met Halston, I remember him talking and me listening… and then him saying, ‘Okay, I’ve got it,’” Minnelli recounted in the 2019 documentary Halston. “From that moment, we were inseparable.”

Minnelli said Halston’s deep understanding of costumes and clothing reminded her of her relationship with her father, Oscar-winning director Vincente Minnelli. “He was somewhat like my father, because when I was a little girl, he would give me five costumes from his productions every year. That’s how I began to understand how clothing can change the way you feel,” she said. Halston sent her a new black velvet pair of pants tailored to her measurements every three months. “He made women feel glamorous,” she told The New York Times in 2011. “He took American style and elevated it to haute couture.”

The Brightest Duo in New York — A Thrilling Love Story

Honoring a request from her dear friend, Minnelli performed and choreographed “Bonjour Paris” during the legendary Battle of Versailles fashion show in 1973, electrifying the audience. Halston dressed Minnelli for all her appearances: from the 1973 Oscars, where she won for Cabaret, to her films and theatrical shows such as Liza with a “Z”. She, in turn, stood by him at every step, alongside his “Halstonettes” — women who accompanied him to glamorous nights out, including Elizabeth Taylor, Cher, Elsa Peretti, and others. Everything Minnelli wore was a Halston creation; even for Cabaret, Halston redesigned her entire wardrobe after she told him she hated her costumes.

Minnelli was both backstage and in the front row at his shows. If needed to add sparkle to a runway, she stepped in without hesitation — as she did at the iconic Battle of Versailles in 1973. Five years later, in 1978, at the opening party for Halston’s showroom at the Olympic Tower, Minnelli walked the runway singing “New York, New York” and ended by presenting Elizabeth Taylor with a rose.

Even in 2008, 18 years after Halston’s death, when his brand was revived with a show in New York, Minnelli was in the front row, speaking with emotion about her friend. Wearing a vintage Halston from 1975, she told The New York Times: “It’s Halston vintage, and I believe it’s worth honoring the first designer who put American fashion on the world map.”

A Relationship of Creation, Protection, and Love

In the documentary Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston (2010), Minnelli said Halston was like an older brother to her. “I loved him. I trusted him.” When she bought her Manhattan apartment, she confessed she felt lost decorating it. Halston told her to go out of town and not worry. “He handled everything. When I returned, Mark [Gero, her third husband] and I entered the apartment and found it lit with candles. It was the most beautiful apartment I had ever seen. He had organized everything and then left so we could discover it ourselves.”

Though publicly they seemed the brightest duo of the ’70s, wherever their careers or personal lives took them, one constant remained: their unique friendship.

Minnelli described Halston as her protector. Since his passing, she has done everything to protect his memory and legacy, striving to separate his creative genius from the more scandalous narratives of the Studio 54 era. When a reporter tried to draw her into sensational comments, she refused. “Everyone I know loved him dearly,” she said, urging them to avoid ugly portrayals. “He was a great American designer who changed fashion.”

Minnelli often visited Halston at his offices in the Olympic Tower, where his atelier was located. She remained devoted to defending him and, in the 2019 documentary Halston, avoided speaking negatively of him even when asked about his decline. “It’s hard to give an interview about your best friend, especially when it’s something that ‘sells.’ I can’t stand it. I hated it when they did it to my mother, my father, me. And I will not do it to Halston. I can’t. I refuse.” Before filming the Netflix series Halston, Ewan McGregor met with Minnelli to reassure her that her friend’s character was in good hands. In the series, Halston and Minnelli’s friendship was treated as a love story.

After Halston’s death, Minnelli co-hosted a major tribute event in 1992 at Lincoln Center. There, she remembered their last meeting, when she complained and he encouraged her. At the end of the event, she said farewell: “Always tender, always brave, always willing to challenge me to be better than I thought I could be. I will miss him always.” Looking upward, she added, “Thank you, my friend. We just wanted you to know we’re thinking of you.”