Tzaims Luksus & George Halley 1965- 1966
Tzaims
&
George Halley
I will relate this in my own words for the most part. It is such a personal account I have tried to be silent about it but it was the most devastating outcome I could ever imagine a human capable of and it changed my mind about the fashion world since this event ripped the fabric and fashion world into two chaotic division for me and many others worldwide..
There were no winners as a result.
In 1965, the summer after the Neiman Marcus Awards presentation was held in Dallas, Texas, Tzaims was invited to Stanley Marcus' house on None Such Drive, for dinner. Stanley and his directing buyers asked Tzaims to create clothing items and scarves from his own fabrics.
Tzaims hesitated since doing this meant competing with his fashion designer clients all of whom were top in America. Neiman Marcus wanted blouses and scarves mainly, boutique items, and that in itself was not what Tzaims would consider. He didn't wantbto be America's Pucci, so nothing was done.
This happened when Tzaims had taken Emil Sormani as his agent in NYC. Sormani was The distributor high end couture fabrics mostly from Italy. The French had their own agents with Bianchine Ferier, Switzerland had Abraham. Luciano Forneris was the highest Italian fabric house supplting to Ungaro and other Paris designers that Luciano developed and headed under his mother's family's long operation in Rome. Sormani was his agent.
Tzaims had just finished a very large collection of silk prints and gave them to Emil Sormani in NYC and his agency in Paris to show. Most of this $40,000 collection was offered to the French couture in Paris. Every major house chose their favorites.
Now Paris fashion designers didn't buy samples since it was customary for fabric houses in that country and Europe to give 15 yard samples free with no guarantee they would be included in a haute couturier's collection. It was kind of a scam since being free and no guaranteed the French could make or break a fabric company by selecting samples exclusively then not using them so the fabric company lost all sales for that season if not shown in fashion magazines. More on this later.
There must have been at least 50 15 yard samples ordered by Dior, Lanvin, YSl, and every major house taking several of each design group in a variety of colours.
Now the hitch. Paris fashion was shown in January in Paris and February in NYC. The order from Paris came late and since nothing had been printed in advance by Tzaims, as was customary in France, every tohing had to be printed in two weeks to ship to Paris. Time was running out and Paris agent called claiming if the fabrics didn't arrvev in 24 hours immediate cancellation. The entire collection was packed and ready to ship but they would have to go by Concord air to arrive in Paris as instructed. What to do?
Tzaims decided the cost for the collection plus air freight. to high without any guarantees nor payment, was it worth it. No. He decided to cancel the order keeping the collection since it was too late to offer them in NYC
.What the Fashion World Never Knew!
What was going on behind the scenes!
Tzaims Luksus, the fabric fashion leader in the world was about to leap into a leading inspiration in the world Haute Couture.
November 1965
It is said if one starting a new business and it is still operating in three years chances are it can break even in five years. Not only did Tzaims Luksus, Incorporated survive in three years but had every top fashion design house in New You buying his fabrics but had opened up to getting orders from the top haute Couturier fashin masters in Paris.
The list of Tzaims clientele was a Who's Who in the World of Fashion.
Every fashion editor and luxury women's wear exrcutives of major fashion emporiums had their hearts palpatating in antipation when attending New York's cremr dr la cremr dedigner collections
over what will show up of Tzaims creations to sensationalize a new vision.
This is no exaggeration and after three years of sensational trend setting designs a new and even more explosive event was about to happen.
What was Tzaims Mind Set Now?
In his own words.
In November , or there abouts, I was facing many difficult situations and decisions. Remember this position fell upon me when I had no experience in creating fabric design on a commercial level nor ever having a work experience running a company nor ever studied business management. Nothing, nada, zilch! Now after three years I had the whole fashion market clammering over my product, silk print and woven wool luxury fabrics!
I was calm, in total mental control and poised in position to make world breaking decisions in seconds. For the first three years starting I was simply an individual fabric artist operating out of my own art studio single handed. This was from 1961 to 1 October 1963. I had full control. My first tie died chiffons for Sarmi I created and produced by hand. My first woolen fabrics for Sarmi I hand wove the first samples and contracted through a long operating Philadelphia factory both samples and the following production of orders.
My working together with them was smooth and very satisfactory. The only soncern was that they were a mass producing fabric operation and my orders amounted to a small production of exclusive high fadhion orders amounting to less than 100 yards a season so since delivery time meant they had to get thrir thousands of yards produced before they could start on mine but my delivery dats came before Theirs and if not delivered in time no further orders were possible I really needed my own factory to continue not only to weave but to print.
How does one go from making little to making masses over night? And from a few hindred dollars of investment jump to over one million dollars of production having no money and having to wait for 90 days for accounts receivable?
Then one year after a simple artisan production of hand tied silk move to state of the art Silk Screen Printing? This was what I was faced with. All I had was my own limited resources and limited borrowing from close friends to keep up an image, yes, an image, heavily pressed upon me by the fashion press and demands from NYC high fashion designers. They wanted, or needed at least one of my fabrics in their collection to draw in magazine color photos. This was vesy serious and created a deadly situation for me.
My second offering was with Ronald Amey of the then Burke Amey Fashion House on 57th Street. He was one of the new top independent designers. I offered tie died fabrics to him that he wantet after Sarmi, but my interest in tie died silk was basically over. Ronald and I became good friends having lunch together often. fast food take out at his showroom, and on one meeting his froend was present. A not very attractive and very under dressed young man Amey explained was going to bopen his own new fashion house with Ben Shae financial backing, meaning a Ben Shae company. His name was Geoffry Beene. Quite frankly I didn't't see any success in him but never under estimate what Ben Shaw could do.
Ronald Amey picked out a few tie dyed silks but asked if I could combine a paisley pattern mixed with stripes. This had to be silk screened. This was in 1962 with possible magazine coverage in April 1963. This started me to work two or three years in advance before showing samples. Now I created what designers wanted but using my own imagination to do so.
Now silk screening. I knew the process having had a course for three years studying interior design at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art. I was guided by their textile expert of two printers at the top for printing. Jack Lenor Larson, whom I knew well, but didn't really like, and Leslie and D D Tillet in NYC.
Leslie knew of me from the fashion press and immediately came to recommend his printer in New Jersey to print on a contract agreement so I was able to produce printed silk panels for Ron Amey, so sensational they turned the fashion editors heads around 360 degrees. They appeared in the April editions in color of Vogue, Harpers's Bazaar and the black and white version by the New York Times television advertising offering the highest trend for fashion news. Burke Amey ordered $40,000.00 in orders .
You would guess this "Great!" No, more than great not realizing how big a storm was brewing I had no idea of the destruction ahead but, I managed to get the printed order delivered in time. The devastating details of this, followed by the devastating tie died production earlier for Sarmi's order was not easy for me to understand until I started to put together different factors of the past after several decades of experience.
I had no time to think as the crush from all sides pressed into my life. I wason a battle line standing exposed on no man's land.
I trusted everyone I worked with and considered they all were supportive to furthering my success though I was well aware that it depended on me to make it work.
I am afraid that this account is going to take a long time to explain since so many people in fashion, everyone, in fact, was involved. I learned quickly that there was room at the top for only one, but, that one was Jerry Silverman, whom I knew nothing of, with the top floor of NYC fashion's iconic building at 550 Seventh Avenue. For those of us in the know, Norman Norell was No. 1 in NYC and James Galanos was No.1 In Los Angeles. I was a fabric designer and there were none known for the most part since they worked unknown for fabric producers in the US. So. I became No.1 Fabric Designer for the US but there weren't't any fashion awards for fabric designers. Coty and Neiman Marcus only gave awards to fashion designers. No one else that produced for them. I produced for them but I wasn't't supposed to be important for them as a person, just production fodder.
Now the calamities I suffered and over came will be dealt with in separte posts. They are two. That of the The American Silk Company in NY, the Japanese silk firm providing my chiffon for Sarmi and Bianchini Ferier of Paris providing their Four ply silk crepe for Burke Aney.
Back to George and Claudia
The above covers a bit of what led to November 1965.
The cancelled Paris collection plus other unfortunate events only exaspirated an on going problem developing with the intricacies of dealing with almost every designer client I had. Too much to detail here and now but when one door closes another...yes I know a cliche ...too often repeated.
I was having lunch with Norell's young business manager and Norell's house models one day in Norell's showroom. His business manage knew of what Stanley Marcus wanted from me, though I never spoke of it, and quite surprisingly he encouraged it over lunch without offering anything to make it operational, however, Claudia Halley, Norell's top but aging house model called me aside and suggested her husband, long out of work, would be perfect as my assistant for construction my designs. So a meeting with George and Claudia was arranged to meet at their favorite bar in the theater district to discuss it.
They were quite generous in their offer. No salary, instead 3 per cent of the net income. Nothing more. I expected a huge salary paid in advance and 50% of net income. It was agreed with a hand shake. No.lawyers. no written signed contract
I was known for honoring a gentleman's agreement and with three months to complete the collection, I presentrd it to my board of Directors to see if we could afford producing a collection of cloths to show in NYC. Well they were reluctant and nothing happened but they didn't say no. Waiting until they thought it over,. In the meantime Claudia, George with Miriam (I haven't't mentioned Miriam yet) and I spent much time socializing, skiing, dining and them staying weekends at my Vermont house when finally three weeks before the planned showing in February my board agreed to offer $10,000 as a one time investment three weeks before the set date for showing in February 1966. but no follow-up of support or involvement, stating I would have to find other investors and set up my own company without them but guarantee all fabrics would come from my mill under my design management continuing as its President.
We packed up the 50 silk print samples meant for Paris and headed for NYC to start the collection. I knew Colette, a dress maker on Lexington Avenue and 72nd Street with a little couture shop and she joined in with her one assistant to create the first
Tzaims Luksus Fashion Collection.
George and Claudia didn't't know these prints were originally supposed to be in the haute couture collections in Paris in January. Now they became Tzsims' first collection.
I didn't want to start out with boutque items. I wanted to do a full fledged haute Couture collection.
The New York Times called it the most fashionable breakthrough since Dior's 1947 New Look,
The Bat Flower Gown
Women's Wear Daily Called it the
The Launching of Luksus
Every fashion executive and editor arrived for the presentation and the buyers of every major fashion store lined up making buying appointments. Saks Fifth Avenue wanted full exclusivity but I denied them claiming I county"t exclude others. They threatened not ton buy otherwise but gave in and placed orders for all their stores. Every store eindow on Fifth Avenue had the clothes in every window, a never before event in fashion history, but what went wrong? How could anything so great fail, or almost fail?Exit George & Claudia?
At the showing, Martha of Park Avenue and Palm Beach, Florida, who rarely attended press showings, went directly to Tzaims to make an appointment.
Claudia, who modeled together in my collection with all of Norell's house models, knew Martha well. Martha wanted Tzaims to bring his collection immediately to Palm Beach, but the money for such a trip wasn't available. In fact only enough to make the orders provided they weren't too great. $80,000USD, a good first order amount.
A French contract company had been arranged by Claudia for production. They were contracted by Norell. Claudia reported when in the elevator, reading the morning news, Norell shit his pants, and all hell broke loose in his showroom and Claudia was fired. Worse, the French contractor was threatened by Norell if they made my production he would cancel their contract, so production hung in limbo. Claudia dropped out and entered the hospital for a historectomy, George dropped out sitting by her side holding her hand. He demanded $25,000 to be paid immediately for his service. When I told him the facts he secretely went to my board of directors in Vermont to be hired for $25,000 a year to continue. They set him packing. The board then took control preventing anyone investing. They decided to create a new corporation called Tzaims Luksus, of New York, Corp.
They locked Tzaims down.
By
Board of Directors
John Griffith McCullough,
Jane Fiske-McCullough, of Fiske Auto Tires
David Gil of Bennington Potters,
Ferdinand Meyers, of Meyers's Jamaica Rum,(retired in July 1963)
Hamilton Shields, Tzaims' cousin,
Douglas Auchincloss, of Time & Life Magazines.(joined February 1966)
Whitney Dickey of Pierpont-Morgon Family.(retired from board in 1964)
Franklin Peens Jones, Attorney clerk,
(Advisors for Jane Fiske McCullough)
R. Marshall Witten, FPJ's ass.Clerk,
John Williams III, FPJ's ass. Clerk,
of
Tzaims Luksus of Bennington, inc
Founded October 1963
&
Tzaims Luksus of New York, inc.
Founded February 1966
&
Terminated
by
Tzaims in December 1966
Eeason: corruption of board
John G. McCullough's quote personal to Tzaims:
"Contracts, laws and gentlemen's agreements are made to be broken!"
"Not in my world, John, but certainly in the McCullough world!"
There was no production contract and no union shop would take it on them selves since Norell blocked all contracts. Fortunately, Jim, an assistant that Geotge knew and. brought him in to assist creating the collection stuck by Tzaims side claiming a non union Italian working under ground in New York on 55the street near the St. Remix Hotel offered to make the production. Obviously connected with the Italian mafiosa, but, no time to lose. No delivery was the kiss of death so all samples were delivered, duplicates made, fabric printed and everything arrived on time, shocking the industry another time. Martha never had her show with Tzaims in Palm Beach but she had the clothes and her own show.
Tzaims' board refused to locate on Madison Avenue where Tzaims wanted to locate similar to the couturiers of Paris but they demanded he operate on Seventh Avenue. Tzaim agreed provided it wss at 550 Seventh Avenue with the top designers. A space was available.
George and Claudia disappeared
Norell calmed down.
The flsck among the design world went up in flames with tons of sour grapes, every one buying fabrics started claiming his fabrics were not quality, that he was late delivering and they had to send back prints, cancel orders. All of course untrue. The American press kept him at the top three Galanos, Norell & Luksus of America. I had to put on invisible armor like Sidartha when all these arrows came at me. This was when Halston, hat maker,at Bergdorf Goodman, took up having lunch with me and asking to be my assistant. Halston didn't know how to make clothes the way I planned and I agreed but wanted hats made from my designs for my next collction. Halston agreed.
Behind the scenes of this fashion luxury illusion there was nothing but artificiality, a term Fashion editor of Vogue, Diana Vreeland, loved to express. I got $75.00 a week living expenses to live and work in New York but divide my time in my Vermont mill. I had no problem dividing my time but I couldn't't operate or even find an apartment in New York for $75.00 a month, entertain anyone,which was expected of me by press and society.
Word spread by Claudia that Grorge alone created the collection and I did nothing to contribute,but in fact, George, though good at cutting and pattern making was trying to make it into a Norell copy. I stopped him halfway by turning it into acflowing free flow soft sculpture letting the fabrics free from restriction. Jim continued as my assistant on Seventh Avenue.. Halston and I over lunch at a new silver and black decor restaurant, L'Etoil, in the Sherry Netherland Jotel decided I would present my Fall collectin there, and the management agreed but it would have to be after the restaurant closed making it the first black tie midnight fashion showing at L'Etoile.
The First Million Dollar Gown
Midnight at L'Etoile
Continued in
TZAIMS MEMOIRS
Striking With the Sword of Heaven
Foot Note
In all fairness to George, I was greatly saddened by George pulling out. I didn't really blame him but there wasn't anything I could do. He excommunicated with me. He became a total stranger as a stranger made of ice as if we had never met. Claudia controlled him. She held all the cards. Getting fired by Norell should have been something she should of expected. Maybe she did. Maybe Norell's manager and Claudia set this up for her escape from Norell making her husband associated with the fabric master of American fashion.
I gave them carte blanche, as best I could provide and afford. There wasn' a single glitch making the collection. We all had a hand in it, Geotge, Claudia, Colette, her assistant, Jim, George's assistant, and me. It was joyous. We were the perfect team.
Claudia wanted it all for George. This became obvious. She was relentlesss. Pulling a hospital trick gave her space to master mind the next step, getting sympathy, but is was dumb and not life threatening. George was a total fool! She, knowing George would be at her side like a lap dog that he was, but they were both gay.. She immediately went out for finding funding for Georgr and if she could convince everyone only George created my collection whilst her shit combied wiith his was hot, She convinced everyone it was all George, and no onevelse. Colette was furious being left out since she contributed more than George but Claudia had the fashion press by the balls,if women have balls, or by their clots. She raked up funding and they opened a couture GEORGE HALLEY on 56th Street off Fifth Avenue. He won a City award with his first collection, all designed by Claudia.
Not long after they lost clientele and press. I read about their downfall and visited them in their now lifeless showroom. We had a light lunch together. We didn't discuss our past association. It was sad but final. I actually loved them but I couldn't feel anything for them now. Claudia was wearing an elaborate black glitter Vampire dress with glued on black feathers that George designed. They believed this to be modern fashion, The dark side. They appeared much like members of the Adams family. No one was smiling but me. I left feeling empty inside. They were so changed. The meeting still haunts me. Writing all this down was not easy and I packed it all in the back of my mind from 1966 but finally now in 2025 I can relate it openly though so much more could be revealed.
If you are still alive George, I hope you find this and read it. The hurt you and Claudia on to me was so great it almost crushed me. I will never forget how much fun we had, how great putting the collection together was, reading it the news early in the morning at your favorite bar but most of all out night out at the famous, impossible to get in, ARTHUR night club.
Give Claudia my regards when you see her in your after life and tell her I forgave her long ago and always wished you and I had continued like Traina-Norell for a few collections but of course, you and Claudia launched me alone in my own fashion house that led me to Paris under Rebekka Harness' wing. New York abandoned me. I survived and lived a wonderful life free to travel the world. All.those fashionistasvin our time? They are all dead.
C'eat la vie
Tzaims and Anushka in Paris
January 1968
at the Hotel Crillon
Place de la Concorde, Paris
God bye George. Fare thee well.
Tzaims
Yangon
2025
Tzaims motto:
"Nobless Oblige"
"Life is sweet even when surrounded by everything that is sour."
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