NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar de la Renta, the worldly
gentleman designer who shaped the wardrobe of
socialites, first ladies and Hollywood stars for
more than four decades, has died. He was 82.
De la Renta died at home Monday evening in
Connecticut surrounded by family, friends and
"more than a few dogs," according to a
handwritten statement signed by his
stepdaughter Eliza Reed Bolen and her husband,
Alex Bolen. The statement did not specify a cause
of death, but de la Renta had spoken in the past
of having cancer.

"While our hearts are broken by the idea of life
without Oscar, he is still very much with us.
Oscar's hard work, his intelligence and his love
of life are at the heart of our company," the
statement said. "All that we have done, and all
that we will do, is informed by his values and his
spirit. Through Oscar's example we know the way
forward. We will make Oscar very proud of us by
continuing in an even stronger way the work that
Oscar loved so much."
The late '60s and early '70s were a defining
moment in U.S. fashion as New York-based
designers carved out a look of their own that was
finally taken seriously by Europeans. De la Renta
and his peers, including the late Bill Blass, Halston
and Geoffrey Beene, defined American style —
and their influence is still spotted today.
De la Renta's specialty was eveningwear, though
he also was known for chic daytime suits favored
by the women who would gather at the Four
Seasons or Le Cirque at lunchtime. His signature
looks were voluminous skirts, exquisite
embroideries and rich colors.
Most recently, Amal Alamuddin wore a de la
Renta-designed wedding dress when she married
George Clooney. And earlier this month, first lady
Michelle Obama notably wore a de la Renta dress
for the first time. De la Renta had criticized her
several years ago, for wearing foreign designers.
First lady Laura Bush wore an icy blue gown by de
la Renta to the 2005 inaugural ball and Hillary
Rodham Clinton wore a gold de la Renta in 1997.
On the red carpet at the Academy Awards,
Penelope Cruz and Sandra Bullock were among the
celebrities to don his feminine and opulent gowns.
His clothes even were woven into episodes of
"Sex and the City" with style icon character
Carrie Bradshaw dropping his name — and
comparing his designs to poetry.
"We will miss Oscar's generous and warm
personality, his charm, and his wonderful talents."
Bush said in a statement. "My daughters and I
have many fond memories of visits with Oscar,
who designed our favorite clothes, including
Jenna's wedding dress. We will always remember
him as the man who made women look and feel
beautiful."
De la Renta's path to New York's Seventh Avenue
took an unlikely route: He left his native
Dominican Republic at age 18 to study painting in
Spain but soon became sidetracked by fashion.
The wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Spain saw
some of his sketches and asked him to make a
dress for her daughter — a dress that landed on
the cover of Life magazine.
That led to an apprenticeship with Cristobal
Balenciaga, and then de la Renta moved to France
to work for couture house Lanvin. By 1963, he
was working for Elizabeth Arden couture in New
York and in 1965 had launched his own label.
He told the AP in 2004 that his Hispanic roots
worked their way into his designs.
"I like light, color, luminosity. I like things full of
color and vibrant," he said.
And while de la Renta made Manhattan his
primary home, he often visited the Dominican
Republic and kept a home there. Vogue editor in
chief Anna Wintour was a frequent visitor and
she has said traveling with him was like traveling
with the president. "He's a superstar," she said.
He also had a country home in northwestern
Connecticut. Gardening and dancing were among
his favorite diversions from work. "I'm a very
restless person. I'm always doing something. The
creative process never stops," he said.
As a designer, De la Renta always catered to his
socialite friends and neighbors — as the designer
and his wife, Annette, were fixtures on the black-
tie charity circuit — but he did make occasional
efforts to reach the masses, including launching a
mid-priced line in 2004 and developing a dozen or
so perfumes, the first, called Oscar, was
introduced in 1977 and more recently, Rosamor.
He was an avid patron of the arts, serving as a
board member of The Metropolitan Opera and
Carnegie Hall, among others, and he devoted
considerable time to children's charity, including
New Yorkers for Children. He also helped fund
schools and day-care centers in La Romana and
Punta Cana in his native country.
The Dominican Republic honored de la Renta with
the order al Merito de Juan Pablo Duarte and the
order of Cristobol Colon. Here in the U.S., he
received the Coty American Fashion Critics
Award twice, was named womenswear designer of
the year by the Council of Fashion Designers of
America in 2000 and also received a lifetime
achievement award from the CFDA — an
organization for which he served as president in
the 1980s.
In addition to his own label, de la Renta
spearheaded the Pierre Balmain collection from
1993-2002, marking the first time an American
designed for a French couture house, and he was
awarded the French Legion d'Honneur as a
Commandeur. He also received the Gold Medal
Award from the king and queen of Spain.
De la Renta gave up the title of chief executive of
his company in 2004, handing over business
duties to the Bolens, but he remained active on
the design end, continuing to show his collections
during New York Fashion Week.
De la Renta also is survived by an adopted son,
Moises, a designer at the company.
De la Renta's first wife, French Vogue editor
Francoise de Langlade, died in 1983.

Life is but a walking shadow which struts and fret and is heard of no more.

2cato:
Life is but a walking shadow which struts and fret and is heard of no more.

Ok

TeamSimple:
Ok

Lol.. What's 'okay'? Someone died and you said 'okay'.. Is that suppose to be your comment man?

RIP to one of the World most creative Fashion Legend Oscar!

RIP

hatux:
Lol.. What's 'okay'? Someone died and you said 'okay'.. Is that suppose to be your comment man?

so u haven't offered the general course in SPACE BOOKING ? no graduation 4 u in NL

Profcamsey:
so u haven't offered the general course in SPACE BOOKING ? no graduation 4 u in NL

Lol