Clients loved designer as well as his work
NEW YORK — Fun, sunny, romantic. Oscar de la Renta approached fashion and life on those terms, but there was more, so much more, those who loved and admired the designer say.
The “more,” Vogue's Anna Wintour wrote Tuesday on the magazine's website, was “democratic.”
By that, she meant de la Renta possessed the sensibility, the ease, to dine with the rich and famous but happily play dominoes with his staff. The “more,” to others, was his desire to make women feel feminine and pretty, and not just a coterie of first ladies and socialites.
Laura Bush favored de la Renta, and so does her daughter, Jenna, who was emotional Tuesday during a “Today” show appearance in describing the close friendship that developed when he created her wedding gown.
“It was the first dress he showed me. I put it on and he said, 'And now to the most important accessory,' and he handed me his arm and he said, 'The man.' And so I put my arm in his arm and I got to walk through his showroom with Oscar de la Renta.”
De la Renta, at 82, died Monday at home in Kent, Connecticut, surrounded by family, friends and his beloved dogs after more than four decades in the fashion industry. A handwritten statement signed by his stepdaughter Eliza Reed Bolen and her husband, Alex Bolen, did not specify a cause of death, but de la Renta had spoken in the past of having cancer.
Wintour wrote that his strength, his courage, “must have been with him in the hospital last week when he made the decision to turn off treatment; it was not the quality of life he wanted.”
Eveningwear was de la Renta's specialty, though he also was known for chic suits worn by ladies who lunch. His signature looks were voluminous skirts, exquisite embroideries and rich colors.
Suzy Menkes, the respected British fashion journalist, called de la Renta the American Valentino.
“He knew his clients. He dined with his clients and holidayed with his clients,” she said. His early training “put Oscar in the category of haute couture, something that never really existed in American fashion, which was focused more on sportswear.”
IMG Models president Ivan Bart recalled fittings for models Carolyn Murphy and Shalom Harlow for New York Fashion Week.
“The creative energy in the room was so potent and inspiring,” Bart said. “Each fitting was a collaborative effort. Mr. De La Renta involved everyone in the room and considered everyone's opinions. He was a truly generous and brilliant man.”
Designer Donna Karan called de la Renta the “ultimate ladies' man,” adding: “Oscar was an amazing designer because he lived in the present, always moving forward. To be dressed by Oscar was the ultimate in fashion.”
Earlier this month, first lady Michelle Obama notably wore a de la Renta dress for the first time. He had criticized her several years earlier for not wearing an American designer to a state dinner in 2011.
“Oscar de la Renta truly was the ultimate diplomat for American fashion,” said Eric Wilson, the fashion news director for InStyle magazine.
