Diane Von Furstenberg has credited Roy Halston Frowick with inspiring her to work in fashion.

The designer credits the flamboyant 70s fashion star - who created the label Halston - with boosting her interest in the industry because of the "liberal" approach he took to his creations.

She said: "He was one of the reasons I got into fashion. He introduced a liberal approach to fashion; a modern approach."

However, Diane thinks the designer - who died of lung cancer complicated by AIDS at the age of 57 in 1990 - made "mistakes" in his career that made him lose heart.

She added in new documentary 'Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston': "But we all make mistakes - sometimes you associate with the wrong names - his was working with JC Penney: he never recovered from that. He lost his heart I think. He became part of that Seventies phenomenon - you know, abuse."

Milliner Philip Treacy also praised the "superstar" designer for his technical skills.

He told Vogue.co.uk: "He was the first US designer superstar. He knew how materials and fabrics worked and how to use them - he was technically brilliant. If a woman was to walk into this room tonight wearing one of Halston's dresses from the Seventies, she'd still look fabulous. That is not an easy thing to master."