Ewan McGregor carefully studied the process of fashion design in the lead-up to portraying Halston in a new TV series.

The Scottish actor takes on the central role of Roy Halston Frowick, the American designer who rose to international fame in the 1970s, in the Netflix show.

Fashion is critical to the characters and mise-en-scene of the programme, and costume designer Jeriana San Juan has now shared just how serious McGregor was when it came to understanding every last detail about crafting and creating clothes.

“We worked very closely together not just on his costuming, but on the design process. He would come to the shop just to observe the tailors, or watch me do a fitting, to get a better idea of how a designer works,” she said. “It was a very unique experience — we worked on how to pin clothes properly, how clothes are constructed and assembled, how to move through a workroom, and I even walked him through where my eyes go when I’m designing so he could better track his eyeline when he’s designing as Halston in the show.”

When creating the wardrobes for the main characters, San Juan sought out vintage items and reimagined them, but for McGregor’s suits, the costumer actually managed to get in touch with Halston’s tailor, Gino Balsamo.

“Halston only wore his own designs, and he wanted to wear fabrics that did all the things for him that they did for women; created ease, effortless strength, and effortless beauty. Halston had unique nuances in his clothes — he created these pants with no side seam and specific pocket placements,” San Juan added. “Gino actually came to my shop and worked with us to create and pattern clothes the same way that he did for Halston.”

Halston, also featuring Rebecca Dayan, Krysta Rodriguez, and Rory Culkin, premiered on Netflix earlier this month.

– Cover Media