Oscar de larenta biography

He holds the position until Designs a flamenco-inspired white lace evening gown for Jennifer Garner at the Emmy Awards. Launches an eyewear line. De la Renta diversifies his brand by launching a bridal line and designing a boutique hotel at the Puntacana Resort and Club. De la Renta's styles evolved over time. His lines in the s retained the romantic touch, but with exotic influences such as Russian- and gypsy-themed gowns.

He struggled a bit in the mids when androgyny ruled, and his ideas did not fit the times. However, he did bounce back by the end of the decade. One very successful product produced by de la Renta was perfume. He introduced his first perfume in , and regularly added new fragrances over the years. In , he launched his first fragrance for men called Oscar for Men.

New perfumes for women called Intrusion and Rosamor were introduced in and , respectively. De la Renta's personal life evolved in the s. His wife died of bone cancer in Shortly after her death, de la Renta adopted a son, whom he named Moises Oscar, on his own. The center gave children who lived in poverty a place to go and parents a place to leave their children in safety.

As soon as he saw the boy who became his son, de la Renta became extremely drawn to him and despite the fact that friends were against the adoption, the designer took the child home as his own. De la Renta's business continued to grow in the s. His evening gowns moved away from the ruffled, romantic look and became even bigger, bejeweled, and full of glamour.

However, de la Renta realized that his core audience was changing to career women who need to look good for night and day. While they wanted to be feminine, the clothes had to fit their needs. To that end, he created new styles of day suits for women which became quite colorful. Quilting, close cuts, and bold coloring became trademarks of his pieces in this time period.

Part of the increase came from the success of new product lines. He added more day wear and ready-to-wear items as well as a cheaper Miss O line to appeal to less prosperous consumers. The de la Renta name was also put on accessories and linens. Sales of de la Renta's products greatly increased in the late s. De la Renta did not just dominate in the business sector.

In this time period, he served as president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. After marrying for a second time in January of to Annette Engelhard Reed, a philanthropist and socialite, de la Renta continued to grow in business. In , he built on the success he had with fashion in the United States by becoming the first major American designer to show his work in Paris.

De la Renta's debut in Paris for the fall season was a hit. He focused on light, wearable pieces, many of which featured plaids. In , checks dominated his pieces. With this success, de la Renta was essentially on top of the American evening wear market. De la Renta's business continued to expand in the early s. In , he signed a deal with the Paris-based house of Pierre Balmain to create two lines, couture and a ready-to-wear line called Ivoire.

De la Renta did not have his name on his label. This deal made de la Renta the first American to design for the fashion house, but did not preclude the continuation of his own business or designing under his own name. De la Renta was up to the challenge of reviving a house that had always been important but never at the top and that had suffered from major financial losses.

Martha Duffy of Time wrote, "Oscar, as everybody calls him, fits perfectly into the Balmain aesthetic. He is not an innovator—his few enemies call him a copyist—but he executes gorgeous costumes and with a peerless eye for fabric, detail, and nuance. De la Renta's first show for Balmain came in February of , featured spring wear, and was well-received.

The pieces were very wearable, elegant, contemporary, and sexy with polished touches. De la Renta continued to produce several lines a year for Balmain until Though Balmain remained a priority for de la Renta, he did not neglect his own company. He continued to show his own designs in Paris in the early s, but moved his shows back to New York City by the middle of the decade.

De la Renta also added more product lines to the company. In , to expand his appeal, he began creating a bridge sportswear line for women called Oscar by Oscar de la Renta. These clothes were less expensive than many other lines produced by him. While all of de la Renta's lines took on a new, more simple aesthetic in the s to reflect the style of the times, his pieces remained flattering.

Oscar de larenta biography

Though de la Renta's clothes always remained popular, in the late s and early s, his work became the preferred wear of American First Ladies. Clinton also wore his designs for other big events during her husband's presidency, including a speech to the Democratic National Convention in , and after she became a senator in While his fashions remained profitable, he was making more from his related lines, including accessories and perfumes, than his clothing.

In , he launched a line of lingerie, as well as petite division for Oscar by Oscar de la Renta, then plus sizes in , both of which proved very popular. Other products that carried his name included eyewear, swimwear, handbags, and men's accessories. De la Renta continued to design two men's lines, the more expensive Oscar de la Renta Pour Homme, and the less expensive Oscar de la Renta.

In early s, de la Renta entered his seventies, yet remained a vital designer who still enjoyed designing clothes. In , he added a less expensive line of clothing called O Oscar. De la Renta said he wanted to attract new customers whom he could not previously reach. The hotel is part of the luxury hotel collection, The Leading Hotels of the World.

In and , de la Renta won the Coty Award the U. De la Renta's talents received continual international recognition. He served on the boards of several charitable institutions such as New Yorkers for Children, the America's Society. They were married until she died of cancer in Engelhard, Jr. De la Renta had stepchildren from both marriages.

De la Renta was regarded as an unofficial ambassador of the Dominican Republic , his home country, and held a diplomatic passport. De la Renta was diagnosed with cancer in At that event, he spoke of his cancer, saying:. Yes, I had cancer. Right now, I am totally clean. The only realities in life are that you are born, and that you die.

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. De la Renta died of complications from cancer on October 20, , at his home in Kent, Connecticut , at the age of Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk.

Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. Melania Trump. Kanye West. Karl Lagerfeld. Vera Wang. Alexander McQueen. Brooke Shields. Mary Quant. Gloria Vanderbilt. Jimmy Choo. A Fashion Legend While de la Renta expanded his lines and took them in a new direction in the s, his pieces remained feminine and flattering.

Death De la Renta had been diagnosed with cancer during the first decade of the s.