11 Aug Interior Designer to the Stars Wade Hallock Has Exploded Onto the Women’s Fashion Scene

There always had been an undercurrent of momentum to Wade Allyn Hallock’s prodigious talent as a Miami-based interior designer, one that rivaled a game of telephone. This client told that friend. That friend became a client. And so on. Better still, Hallock purposely flew below the radar with an air-of-mystery approach that his increasingly exclusive clientele appreciated. In short, Hallock kept quiet. He didn’t plaster finished projects all over his website. He didn’t name drop the A-list celebrities with which he worked in Southern California, unless they gave him the green light. Still, by the early 2010s, more than a decade after he launched his eponymous design group in 2000, insider buzz about Hallock’s timeless, sophisticated design style had caught the attention of TV producers. Thankfully, the Goddess of Pop was there to drop a truth bomb. “I had a couple of opportunities to be on some reality shows back then,” Hallock says. “At the time, I was working with Cher on her home in Malibu. So, I told her about the reality shows. And she said, ‘If you want to stay with a certain type of clientele, you won’t put yourself out there like that.’ ” That wisdom remains seared into his interior design brand. And, yes, discretion may be the better part of valor for Hallock when it comes to self-promotion in the high-end residential world. But what happens when you launch a jaw-dropping collection of women’s evening wear, cocktail dresses and bridal silhouettes—under the Wade Allyn banner—that has the potential to change the way people view style in South Florida? Don’t you want the rest of the world to see it? Potential clients beyond the invite-only crowd of 450 that packed the Scottish Rite Building in Miami this past March for a runway spectacular—against a dazzling Hallock-engineered backdrop of chirping birds and cherry blossoms—to celebrate the brand’s launch? “I want it to happen just as it did with interior design,” says the 53-year-old. “All word of mouth. I don’t want to flood the market. I don’t want it in department stores. I want to be comfortable with the pace [at which] we’re producing pieces. “And you know what? If you can’t get it, it’s more desirable.” There’s certainty in Hallock’s voice that comes from ignoring the “what ifs” in life. If he feels it, he seizes the moment. And he does it his way. No questions. No regrets. It’s been that way for as long as he can remember. EYE ON THE PRIZE Hallock was born in Hartford, Connecticut; his mom and dad divorced when he was 5. After bouncing back and forth between parents, he lived mostly with his mom (Hallock has a brother and two half-sisters from his mother’s previous marriage). Something about his mom’s drive and dedication—she worked for real estate developers—spoke to him. He loved her high energy. He also loved interior design. There was no HGTV in those days. And no one in Hallock’s orbit worked in a purely creative field. Still, he pushed furniture around whatever house the family was living in, rearranging rooms with an innate sense of where and how pieces should be staged. He’d sit in his classrooms at school daydreaming how to reimagine the space as something completely different. When his mother moved to Atlanta, Hallock attended a grade school that offered a “interior design” course that consisted of little more than cutting pictures out of magazines. “But I took it,” he says. “And that was ballsy. I was the only boy in class. And I do remember being chastised a bit. But nothing was going to stop me from pursuing what I wanted to do.” A similar sentiment held true in his personal life. By the time he started college, both parents knew that their son dated men. One year, before Thanksgiving break, while Hallock was at Florida State University (he studied interior design there, architecture at the University of Florida, and art history at Florida Atlantic University in Boca), he asked about bringing his boyfriend at the time home for dinner. If his half-sisters could bring their boyfriends, why couldn’t he bring his? “The feedback was, ‘Absolutely not,’ ” Hallock says. “So, I stood my ground and didn’t go home for Thanksgiving. My mom, unfortunately, was someone who thought being gay was a ‘choice.’ But I didn’t have time to engage in babble. “Fortunately, for me, I never felt different than anybody else. I understood that I had a different desire. But I also felt incredibly comfortable in my skin.” That comfort extended to a growing reputation among his friends, who leaned on him for fashion advice, as the Style Whisperer. Hallock shares a story about two girlfriends who were working with Madonna’s stylist for months to find the right wedding dresses. He went to New York to visit his friends. It took him 30 minutes of shopping to pull two perfect Halston gowns for them. The anecdote speaks to his uncanny ability to spend time with someone, understand who they are at their core—and then translate that. Later, this would become the hallmark of his interior design work. But, first, there were dues to pay.