by Annie Vischer
The celebrated Dominican Republic turned New York designer Oscar de la Renta passed away last night at 82 after a prolonged battle with cancer.
He was famed for creating the sort of dresses that left you breathless with their beauty, their silhouette, their other-worldy grace.
His artistic tendencies flourished at the tender age of 18 when he travelled to Madrid to study painting. There he joined none other than Cristobal Balenciaga as a fashion illustrator. His work here led him to Paris where he joined the coveted ranks of Lanvin. Fully in love with the fashion world, he made the continental leap to New York where he finally set up Oscar de la Renta, the label.
From those first 1960s designs he proceeded to enrapture women the world over with his designs, counting Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, Aerin Lauder, the Clintons, Sarah Jessica Parker and countless others amongst his most loyal fans. And his bridal designs? Well that’s a whole other story.
He has been described as a fashion legend, one of the most suave and handsome men you could ever hope to meet, and a mild-mannered family man devoted to his wife. All in one. And they don’t come around all too often.
Farewell Oscar de La Renta.