By the legendary fashion photographer, who has captured the designer, actress and fashion editor while attending the historic Battle of Versailles Fashion Show on November 28, 1973, held at the Palace of Versailles to raise money for its restoration.  The event was initially intended to be a joint benefit, though by the time it unfolded in France with an audience of several hundred luminaries and the press, it had turned into a battle. In the first photograph, Minnelli, Halston and Vreeland are shown seated around a table in conversation; the second photograph shows a dazzling Minnelli during one of her performances at the show.  A close friend to Halston, Minnelli was a great addition to the event; having just been awarded an Oscar for Cabaret, Minnelli's performance was an anticipated spectacle that incorporated the electric energy of modern American theater, in great contrast to the much more refined (and perhaps, outdated) approach by the French designers. Unexamined out of frame but in apparently fine condition. First photograph 8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm.), framed to 12.6 x 16.8 inches (32 x 46.7 cm.); Second photograph 10 x 8 inches (25.4 x 20.3 cm.), framed to 16.8 x 12.6 inches (46.7 x 32 cm.). From the collection of Roy Halston. 

Conceived as a fund-raiser for the restoration of King Louis XIV's palace, in 1973, the Battle of Versailles presented an an over-the-top runway extravaganza, with five top American designers competing against five top French designers. An audience filled with celebrities and international jet-setters, including Princess Grace of Monaco, the Duchess of Windsor, Paloma Picasso, and Andy Warhol, were treated to an opulent performance featuring Liza Minnelli, Josephine Baker, and Rudolph Nureyev. The American representatives were Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, and Stephen Burrows. (Anne Klein was accompanied by her assistant, a 25-year-old Donna Karan). The French camp consisted of Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Christian Dior’s Marc Bohan, all of whom at the time were widely regarded as the most influential designers in the world.  Plagued by in-fighting, outsized egos, shoestring budgets, and innumerable technical difficulties, the American contingent had little chance of meeting the European's exquisite and refined standards. But against all expectations, the American energy and the domination by the fearless models (ten of whom, in a groundbreaking move, were African American) sent the audience reeling. By the end of the evening, the Americans had officially taken their place on the world's stage, prompting a major shift in the way race, gender, sexuality, and economics would be treated in fashion for decades to come. (Robin Givhan, The Battle of Versailles)