The good/bad taste doublethink offers up Studio 54 references and an unabashedly glamorous aesthetic: his eponymous brand is built on disco-destined mini dresses, bustiers, flared trousers and jumpsuits. “I always reference over-the-top glamour and juxtapose that with classic bustiers and draping that recalls Charles James, Lacroix, Christian Dior,” he says. Little wonder that he honed his glamorous instinct in the Atelier Versace studio, an experience he likens to “finishing school... I’ve never felt so welcomed and accepted. The Versace team is like a family.”
A New Yorker by birth, Halpern’s predilection is for American glamour fused with the savoire-faire of the couture house. The surprise is that his designs are made in Leicester. “It’s a bit more expensive than producing in Italy or France, but it’s such an incredible thing to be able to support England, a country that has given so much to me,” he says. Red-carpet dominance beckons - Marion Cotillard was the first to wear his designs on the Croisette in Cannes, sporting a sequinned bodice complete with 1.65 metre-long train - and there are numerous actresses queuing up to be dressed in a bespoke Halpern piece this awards season.
“We’re working with a few people who I can’t mention yet, but I place huge importance on the personal connection,” he told Vogue this week. For that read: hours of work with British seamstresses, carefully draping and pinning to ensure a perfect fit. It takes its toll on a small business. “Balancing the red carpet commitments [with the rest of the business] has been difficult because we are so small, but you just have to be organised. Thankfully all the celebrities realise there has to be a budget, we can’t do, say, four bespoke gowns for free. I think stylists understand it’s a reciprocal thing when you work with small brands.”
This season, Halpern will present his first catwalk show at London Fashion Week, and he’s expanded his vision to encompass daywear. Into the sequin and satin megamix comes mesh and velvet from a mill in Gloucestershire, plus a soupçon of leather. “The intense fashion pieces – the bustiers and jumpsuits – have been selling really well at Matchesfashion.com, thanks in part to the amazing support from Ruth and Tom [Chapman] and Natalie [Kingham], but I wanted to make a point that we don’t just do eveningwear,” he said, speaking from his studio in the run-up to the show. “Less intense silhouettes have creeped in, but with the same energy and fabrication.” Inspired by Anjelica Huston - “I haven’t been watching her films, actually, just looking at pictures, in particular one where she has super glossy hair on the set of The Addams Family films” – there’s a dark undercurrent that’s new to Halpern, too. “There is a side of this spring collection that’s a bit tougher now.”
Post-show, which is set to be in a “very, very grand location”, he’ll be switching off by enjoying homemade matzo ball soup with his family (his parents have flown over from New York especially to see his catwalk debut). The Hackney-based designer sounds like a homeboy at heart. “I think it’s really important to have a social life outside of fashion because things become really one-dimensional if all you talk about is production, delivery, shoots, stylists.” The son of an engineer and a banker, he’s got his head in the real world. “One of my closest friends is a neo-natal surgeon.”
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