Oscar de la Renta

Who is Oscar de la Renta?

Oscar de la Renta was a Dominican-born fashion designer who became one of the most celebrated couturiers in the world. Born in Santo Domingo, he initially studied painting in Madrid before turning to fashion design, apprenticing with the Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga and later working for the House of Lanvin in Paris. He moved to New York in the 1960s and launched his own label in 1965, quickly becoming known for glamorous, romantic eveningwear that dressed generations of prominent women, including several United States First Ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy to Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush. In 1993 he was named head designer at the French couture house Balmain in Paris, making him the first American designer to lead a major French fashion house, a post he held for nearly a decade while continuing to run his own New York label. De la Renta received numerous industry honors over his career and remained closely connected to his homeland, supporting an orphanage and educational foundation in the Dominican Republic. He died in Kent, Connecticut, in 2014, remembered as both a towering figure in international fashion and a proud ambassador of Dominican culture.

Sources: Encyclopædia Britannica, "Oscar de la Renta" · The New York Times, "Oscar de la Renta, Fashion Designer, Dies at 82" (October 2014)