Gorgeous 1983 Halston Beaded Black Silk Chiffon Skirt & Jacket Set w Balloon Sleeves

This is a stunning example of Halston's later work. It is from 1983 and of this point Halston had just signed the international licensing agreements that would be the beginning of his downfall. That makes this a piece from one of his final self designed collections before being forced out of his own company. His prices for the main line were sky high at this point and the work put into the pieces was impeccable. When hunting for documentation for this one we found one photo of an unknown woman wearing it to a Nato party that year. There is the possibility that it is from a slightly earlier collection and the woman is re-wearing from her own closet. Either way it gives you a better idea of how spectacular it is on the body. 

The fabric for all of Halston's beaded and sequin pieces were being made in India during this time period. Halston personally chose the fabrics and materials that were used for each piece of his main line collections. These beaded pieces were especially intricate and the majority of the garments produced were heavily beaded and/or sequinned. This set is gorgeous. Both pieces use a black silk chiffon as their base and then onto that is an intricate design made of a combination of tiny tube beads, faux pearls, tiny silver sequins and rhinestones. These have all been hand applied and individually applied over the two pieces. The bead work is laid out so that it becomes heavier around the edges of both pieces. Both piece also have this fantastic fringe made out of little pear-shaped faux pearls spaced side by side that follow every edge. It's incredible to see and like jewelry on the pieces. Clusters of all the other elements are tightly spaced around the edges of the jacket, the end of the sleeves and then around the hem of the skirt. They scatter out in a wider dispersed pattern from there to completely cover both pieces. The skirt has a simple cut with an easy-to-wear elastic waist and then it widens out slightly to the hem. The jacket has no collar and curves down and around to the hem. There are no closures and it's meant to be worn open and over something else. The shoulders are soft and it is looser fitting through the body. The sleeves are incredible. They have those insane fringed cuffs and each sleeve is cut to balloon out above the wrist. You can see that in the photos I have here and even more so in the reference photo attached. I love the versatility of having the two pieces because you can mix and match them with other pieces, but together they are truly spectacular. The silk chiffon keeps them extremely light in weight and even though they are backed in another layer of black silk chiffon there's still a bit of a play on transparency that the set has. It's spectacular. Excellent condition with a note below

Both pieces are fully lined in a black silk chiffon. The jacket has no closures and the skirt has elastic at the waist. All the applique work is done by hand. Perhaps the occasional loose or missing bead or applique. Tagged a vintage Halston 6. The elastic in the waist feel stretched a bit and would be an easy fix if you needed the waist smaller. Its current range of measurements are listed below but it could go down by a few inches if needed.

Jacket
Sleeves: 24" approx.
Slightly dropped shoulders: 16"
Bust- bottom seam: approx 18-19"
Length: 22.5" from neck to hem

Skirt
Waist: 13-19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 28" from waist to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD4193

Reference Photo: Guests at a Halston Party for NATO Committee, October 24 1983.

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.