American fashion designer Halston was BOTD in 1932. Born Roy Frowick in Des Moines, Iowa, he began making clothes and hats as a child, and briefly attended Indiana University before moving to Chicago, where he worked as department store window dresser. He opened his own millinery business in 1953, designing hats for Hollywood royalty including Gloria Swanson, Kim Novak, Deborah Kerr and Hedda Hopper. He moved to New York in 1957, becoming head milliner for the department store Bergdorf Goodman department store, becoming famous for his pillbox hat designs for Jackie Kennedy. Stardom followed as he moved into womenswear, designing chic minimalist sheaths, pantsuits and caftans for the modern American woman. He became the signature designer of the 1970s, drawing celebrity clients including Greta Garbo, Babe Paley, Gene Tierney, Lauren Bacall and Elizabeth Taylor. A fixture of disco-era New York, he befriended Andy Warhol and partied at Studio 54 with his “Halstonettes” Angelica Huston, Bianca Jagger and especially Liza Minnelli, whose look became synonymous with his designs. As his sales boomed, he expanded his brand to include perfume, menswear, luggage, handbags, lingerie and bedding. In 1983, he signed a licensing deal with department store chain J. C. Penney. Concerned that his brand name had been cheapened, Bergdorf Goodman dropped his lines, and he eventually lost creative control of his company. Openly gay since forever, he had a volatile ten-year relationship with Venezuelan artist Victor Hugo. Diagnosed with HIV in 1988, he moved to San Francisco to be cared for by relatives. He died in 1990 of an AIDS-related illness, aged 58. Now considered one of America’s major designers, he has been cited as a major influence on Tom Ford and Michael Halpern. His life and legacy was explored in a 2019 documentary, and the 2021 TV biopic Halston starring Ewan McGregor.