Above The image of Oscar de la Renta used by his company today to signal his passing.
Oscar de la Renta has passed away at his home in Kent, Conn., aged 82 after a six-year battle with cancer, his family has confirmed.
De la Renta had only appointed his successor, Peter Copping, earlier this month, with little public sign of his long fight with his condition.
De la Renta was born in the Dominican Republic, which has announced that it will hold a day of mourning in his honour on Wednesday.
He went to Madrid to study art but wound up in fashion, working first as an apprentice with Cristóbal Balenciaga, and joined Elizabeth Arden and Jane Derby, before setting up his own label in New York in 1965. Between 1993 and 2002, he designed Balmain’s haute couture collections.
His designs showed a classic, feminine sensibility, and was a mainstay of New York Fashion Week for decades. He had dressed US first ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy to Michelle Obama, and, most recently, Amal Alamuddin for her wedding to George Clooney. Former US first daughter Jenna Bush wore Oscar de la Renta on her wedding day.
De la Renta, in this publication’s experience, never played favourites, and provided access to fashion magazines based on merit rather than circulation numbers.
He had served as president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America from 1973 to 1976, then from 1986 to 1988, and received the Gold Medal of Bellas Artes and La Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil from Spain and the Légion d’honneur from France.
He is survived by his wife Annette.
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