IT SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY

HALSTON WAS relaxed in his own environment… his design studio and showroom in the Olympic Towers on Fifth Avenue, where he is shown here laughing with his good friend, Liza Minnelli, the Academy Award winning actress and daughter of Judy Garland. Halston knew his image was of a glamorous fashion designer and he loved it. He had become the American designer who could rival the European couturiers in elegance, style, and— most importantly—design.

Always starkly minimalist in design, the striking silver Elsa Peretti plate was the only object on the sleek and starkly empty desk. And through the floor-to-ceiling glass wall is a historic, breathtaking view of St. Patrick’s Cathedral all the way to the Twin Towers.

Very generous and easy to work with, I would like to have said goodbye. The last time I saw Halston he was sitting with his brother in the Isle of Capri restaurant, three blocks up from Bloomingdale’s on Third Avenue. Knowing he was very ill, I didn’t go over to say hello, and I’m sorry I didn’t. ◆

GSTAAD I shall miss Paul Johnson’s annual summer visits to Gstaad, where we walked for hours on mountain trails and I had the opportunity to take in some of his best bons mots. He knew everything and could tell a story like no one. The times Lady Carla was with us—she is Italian and never draws a breath—Paul would not slow down for her to catch up, but every five min -