Oscar de la Renta, legendary fashion designer, dies at 82
He was not on the list.
Legendary fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, who spent half
a century putting high society in haute couture, has died. He
was 82.
The man -- often described as the "sultan of
suave" -- dressed every first lady since Jacqueline Kennedy. Among those
whose glamor factor his dresses jazzed up: Oprah Winfrey, Anne Hathaway and,
most recently, George Clooney's bride Amal Alamuddin.
"We will always remember him as the man who made women
look and feel beautiful," former first lady Laura Bush said late Monday
night. De la Renta designed the wedding dress for her daughter, Jenna.
The cause of his death, announced by close family friends
and industry colleagues, was not immediately clear. He was diagnosed with
cancer in 2006, but said last year he was "totally clean."
"The only realities in life are that you are born, and
that you die," he told an audience at New York's 92Y "Fashion
Talks" series in June 2013. "We always think we are going to live
forever. The dying aspect we will never accept. The one thing about having this
kind of warning is how you appreciate every single day of life."
2006: Oscar de la
Renta on his roots
Oscar de la Renta: Dressing the stars Oscar de la Renta:
Dressing the stars
1997: De la Renta on
Clinton's dress
And what a life he lived.
"He was a true, true gentlemen, in the truest sense of
the word -- a real bright light -- and this is just a terrible, terrible loss
for the fashion world," said Alina Cho, fashion journalist and editor at
large at Random House.
People we've lost in 2014
Beginnings
Born July 22, 1932, in the Dominican Republic, de la Renta
was the only son of seven children.
"My father had different aspirations for me than I had
for myself," he told the "Fashion Talks" audience. "If I
ever told my father I would become a fashion designer, he would drop dead on
the spot."
He has often said the island colored his design sense.
"From my island side comes my love for the exotic, for
color and light," he told the New York Times.
At 18, he left for Spain to study at the Academy of San
Fernando in Madrid. For a time, he dabbled in abstract art. But fashion was his
passion, he soon discovered.
After the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Spain saw some of
his dress sketches, she commissioned him to design a gown for her daughter.
The daughter and the dress appeared on the cover of Life
magazine.
Emboldened, de la Renta switched his focus to fashion.
He landed an apprenticeship with Cristobal Balenciaga, who
was at the time Spain's most acclaimed designer. He described that period as
the beginning of his learning experience. "I was picking pins off the
floor," he joked.
5 ways he was a pop icon
Ascent
Next stop, and the obvious next step for a fashion designer:
Paris.
De la Renta was in the fashion mecca on vacation. But within
a day of his arrival, he was offered a job at the reputed fashion house,
Lanvin.
He finessed his style, learned to tailor, and, two years
later, moved to New York -- where he became a designer for Elizabeth Arden.
It was the first step toward a career that would make him a
fashion powerhouse.
In 1965, the Oscar de la Renta brand was launched, changing
the face of fashion with its ready-to-wear collection.
"My customers are successful working women," he
said.
From there, he branched into fragrance, then into a home
line, then into furniture.
"I'm a very restless person. I'm always doing
something. The creative process never stops," he once said.
Clinton family remembers de la Renta
Atop
Admired by contemporaries, adored by consumers, de la Renta
had a long, successful run. He was the winner of numerous Cody awards, the
fashion equivalent of the Oscars.
His creations were a fixture on the red carpet and in the
Oval Office.
He dressed Nancy Reagan and provided the inaugural gown for
Laura Bush. He is also responsible for the look Hillary Clinton is so
inextricably associated with: the pantsuit.
"This man has been working for more than 20 years to
turn me into a fashion icon," Clinton joked while presenting him with the
Medal of Excellence at Carnegie Hall last April.
One notable holdout, until recently, was Michelle Obama.
De la Renta waded into controversy after he took her to task
for wearing a J. Crew cardigan to meet Queen Elizabeth in 2009.
"You don't go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater,"
he said.
But, this month, Obama too sported an Oscar de la Renta
creation at the Fashion Education Workshop at the White House.
Endings
Rumors had been circulating for a while that de la Renta was
ill.
Last week, Oscar de la Renta -- the company -- announced the
appointment of Peter Copping as creative director.
"Our Industry has not always done the best job when it
comes to changes in design leadership. My hope is that, in leading this
selection, and actively participating in the transition, I can insure the right
design future for our company and brand," de la Renta said in a statement
then.
Then, Monday, came the news of his death.
His first wife, Francoise de Langlade -- a former editor of
French Vogue -- died of bone cancer in 1983. They had been married 16 years.
He leaves behind his second wife, Annette Engelhard Reed,
whom he married in 1989. He also leaves behind a son.
"The fashion business says goodbye to a mentor, a legend
& an icon," designer Kenneth Cole tweeted Monday night. "He
defined a standard we can only aspire to."
No comments:
Post a Comment