Oscar de la Renta
Encyclopedia
Oscar de la Renta is one of the world's leading fashion design
ers. He was named to the International Best Dressed List
Hall of Fame in 1973.
as well as designing shoes and accessories, and designing ready-to-wear for Christian Dior
-New York, de la Renta turned for advice to Diana Vreeland
, the editor-in-chief of Vogue
, saying that what he really wanted was to "get into ready to wear, because that's where the money is". Vreeland replied, "Then go to Arden because you will make your reputation faster. She is not a designer, so she will promote you. At the other place, you will always be eclipsed by the name of Dior." De la Renta proceeded to work for Arden for two years before he in 1965 went to work for Jane Derby
and launched his own label. When Derby died in August 1965 Oscar de la Renta took over the label.
In 2006 Oscar de la Renta designed Tortuga Bay, a boutique hotel at PUNTACANA Resort and Club
. Tortuga Bay is a Leading Small Hotel of the World and a member of Virtuoso.
He was one of the three major protégés of Baron de Gunzburg; the others were Bill Blass and Calvin Klein.
Two of his major competitors are Carolina Herrera
and Carmen Marc Valvo
.
. From 1973 to 1976, and from 1986 to 1988, he served as President of the CFDA
. He is also a two-time winner of the American Fashion Critic's Award and was inducted into the Fame in 1973. In 1968 he got the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award
From 1993 to 2002, Oscar de la Renta designed the haute couture collection for the house of Balmain (fashion house)
, becoming the first Dominican to design for a French couture house. In 1993, de la Renta was recognized with an award by the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
at their annual gala dinner held in New York.
The Dominican Republic has also honored him with the Order of Juan Pablo Duarte
and the Order of Cristóbal Colón
. De la Renta has contributed extensively in the construction of a much needed school near his home at the Punta Cana Resort and Club in Punta Cana
.
De la Renta serves as a board member of the Metropolitan Opera
, Carnegie Hall
, and WNET
. He also serves on the boards of several charitable institutions such as New Yorkers for Children, the America's Society, and is presently chairman of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
.
His clothes have been worn by many celebrities, including Gloria Guinness
, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Reagan
, Laura Bush
, Jenna Bush
, Tina Fey
and Megan Fox
.
who once worked for the fashion house of Elsa Schiaparelli
. She previously was married to businessman Jean Bruère and diplomat Nicholas Bagenow. After her third marriage, Françoise de la Renta worked as a consultant to Elizabeth Arden
, became a prominent hostess, had their Manhattan
apartment decorated by Denning & Fourcade
, and later opened her own decorating business (among her clients were Florinda Bolkan
and Helmut Berger
). Of her approach to fashion, she once said, "Oscar is not my favorite designer–just one of them." As The New York Times
noted after her death, "She was also widely credited for some of the successes of her husband, the fashion designer Oscar de la Renta. Although she was not active in his business, she attracted many of the rich and famous to his shows."
In 1989, the designer married Annette Reed
(born 1939). She is the former wife of American Heritage
magazine publisher Samuel Pryor Reed and is the only child of German banker Dr. Fritz Mannheimer and his wife, Marie Annette Reiss
.
De la Renta has stepchildren from both marriages. He also has an adopted son, Moises de la Renta.
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
ers. He was named to the International Best Dressed List
International Best Dressed List
The International Best Dressed List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time.People who have been on the list include from A to Z:-The International Hall of Fame: Women:...
Hall of Fame in 1973.
Career
In 1963, torn between designing custom clothing for Elizabeth ArdenElizabeth Arden
Florence Nightingale Graham , who went by the business name Elizabeth Arden, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who built a cosmetics empire in the United States. At the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.-Biography:Arden was born in 1884 at Woodbridge, Ontario,...
as well as designing shoes and accessories, and designing ready-to-wear for Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
-New York, de la Renta turned for advice to Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Born as Diana Dalziel, Vreeland was the eldest daughter of American socialite mother Emily Key Hoffman...
, the editor-in-chief of Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, saying that what he really wanted was to "get into ready to wear, because that's where the money is". Vreeland replied, "Then go to Arden because you will make your reputation faster. She is not a designer, so she will promote you. At the other place, you will always be eclipsed by the name of Dior." De la Renta proceeded to work for Arden for two years before he in 1965 went to work for Jane Derby
Jane Derby
Jane Derby was a top-of-the-line ready-to-wear American fashion designer from the 1930s to 1965....
and launched his own label. When Derby died in August 1965 Oscar de la Renta took over the label.
In 2006 Oscar de la Renta designed Tortuga Bay, a boutique hotel at PUNTACANA Resort and Club
PUNTACANA Resort and Club
PUNTACANA Resort & Club is a resort and residential community located in Punta Cana, La Altagracia Province, Dominican Republic; established in 1969 by businessman and hotelier Frank Rainieri and Theodore W. Kheel, a New York attorney and labor mediator...
. Tortuga Bay is a Leading Small Hotel of the World and a member of Virtuoso.
He was one of the three major protégés of Baron de Gunzburg; the others were Bill Blass and Calvin Klein.
Two of his major competitors are Carolina Herrera
Carolina Herrera (fashion designer)
Carolina Herrera Carolina Herrera Carolina Herrera (born María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño (born January 8, 1939) is a Venezuelan and naturalized American fashion designer and entrepreneur who founded her eponymous company in 1980.-Early life:...
and Carmen Marc Valvo
Carmen Marc Valvo
Carmen Marc Valvo is an American designer who specializes in evening-wear and high-end cocktail dresses for a line of the same name, which was founded in 1989...
.
Awards, honors, philanthropic endeavors
De la Renta's talents receive continual international recognition. Among them, he received the Council of Fashion Designers Designer of the Year Award in 2000 and in 2007 (tied with Proenza Schouler). In February 1990, he was honored with the CFDA Lifetime Achievement AwardCouncil of Fashion Designers of America
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. is a not-for-profit trade association of over 350 of America’s foremost fashion and accessory designers. As of 2009, Diane von Fürstenberg is the group's President and Steven Kolb is the Executive Director...
. From 1973 to 1976, and from 1986 to 1988, he served as President of the CFDA
Council of Fashion Designers of America
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. is a not-for-profit trade association of over 350 of America’s foremost fashion and accessory designers. As of 2009, Diane von Fürstenberg is the group's President and Steven Kolb is the Executive Director...
. He is also a two-time winner of the American Fashion Critic's Award and was inducted into the Fame in 1973. In 1968 he got the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award
Neiman Marcus Fashion Award
The Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion was a yearly award created in 1938 by Stanley Marcus. Unlike the Coty Award, it was not limited to American-based fashion designers...
From 1993 to 2002, Oscar de la Renta designed the haute couture collection for the house of Balmain (fashion house)
Balmain (fashion house)
Balmain is a fashion house that was founded by Pierre Balmain.In the period following World War II, Pierre Balmain was "a king of French fashion" and outfitted stars including Ava Gardner and Brigitte Bardot. His most famous client were Queen Sirikit of Thailand...
, becoming the first Dominican to design for a French couture house. In 1993, de la Renta was recognized with an award by the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute is an organization in New York City founded to promote the Spanish language and the culture of Spain. It is located on 684 Park Avenue in the former Oliver D. Filley House.- History :...
at their annual gala dinner held in New York.
The Dominican Republic has also honored him with the Order of Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez is one of the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic. He was a visionary and liberal thinker who along with Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella is widely considered the architect of the Dominican Republic and its independence from Haitian rule in 1844...
and the Order of Cristóbal Colón
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
. De la Renta has contributed extensively in the construction of a much needed school near his home at the Punta Cana Resort and Club in Punta Cana
Punta Cana
Punta Cana is part of the newly created Punta Cana-Bávaro-Veron-Macao municipal district in La Altagracia, the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. The area is best known for its beaches and balnearios, which face both the Caribbean and Atlantic, and it has been a popular tourist...
.
De la Renta serves as a board member of the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
, Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, and WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
. He also serves on the boards of several charitable institutions such as New Yorkers for Children, the America's Society, and is presently chairman of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute is an organization in New York City founded to promote the Spanish language and the culture of Spain. It is located on 684 Park Avenue in the former Oliver D. Filley House.- History :...
.
His clothes have been worn by many celebrities, including Gloria Guinness
Gloria Guinness
Gloria Guinness , born Gloria Rubio y Alatorre, was a Mexican-born socialite and fashion icon of the 20th century, and a contributing editor to Harper's Bazaar from 1963 until 1971...
, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
, Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
, Jenna Bush
Jenna Bush
Jenna Welch Bush Hager , is the younger of the sororal twin daughters of the 43rd U.S. President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush, and a granddaughter of the 41st U.S. President George H. W. Bush. She and her sister, Barbara, were the first twin children of a U.S. President...
, Tina Fey
Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live , the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls and Baby Mama .Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the...
and Megan Fox
Megan Fox
Megan Denise Fox is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2001 with several minor television and film roles, and played a regular role on Hope & Faith. In 2004, she launched her film career with a role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen...
.
Citizenship
De la Renta was solely a Dominican citizen, due to a previous U.S. law prohibiting dual-citizenship. He renounced his Dominican citizenship in 1971 (a formality required by the U.S., given that Dominican citizenship is non-renounceable) when he was naturalized as a United States citizen. Although he was offered the post of Dominican ambassador to the United States, de la Renta refused the position because of his newly acquired citizenship.Marriages
In 1967, de la Renta became the third husband of Françoise de Langlade (1931–1983), an editor-in-chief of French VogueVogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
who once worked for the fashion house of Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars. Starting with knitwear, Schiaparelli's designs were heavily influenced by Surrealists like her collaborators...
. She previously was married to businessman Jean Bruère and diplomat Nicholas Bagenow. After her third marriage, Françoise de la Renta worked as a consultant to Elizabeth Arden
Elizabeth Arden
Florence Nightingale Graham , who went by the business name Elizabeth Arden, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who built a cosmetics empire in the United States. At the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.-Biography:Arden was born in 1884 at Woodbridge, Ontario,...
, became a prominent hostess, had their Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
apartment decorated by Denning & Fourcade
Denning & Fourcade, Inc.
Robert Denning & Vincent Fourcade, Inc. was an interior design firm which for over forty years was a leader in opulent interiors with offices in New York City and Paris...
, and later opened her own decorating business (among her clients were Florinda Bolkan
Florinda Bolkan
Florinda Bolkan is a Brazilian actress, born Florinda Bulcão.-Biography:Daughter of a congressman and a granddaughter of a priest on her mother's side, Florinda lived in Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará state, and in Rio de Janeiro until she became a world citizen...
and Helmut Berger
Helmut Berger
Helmut Berger is an Austrian-born German film and television actor. He is most famous for his work with Luchino Visconti, particularly in his performance as King Ludwig II of Bavaria in Ludwig, for which he received a special David di Donatello award.He appears primarily in European cinema, but...
). Of her approach to fashion, she once said, "Oscar is not my favorite designer–just one of them." As The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
noted after her death, "She was also widely credited for some of the successes of her husband, the fashion designer Oscar de la Renta. Although she was not active in his business, she attracted many of the rich and famous to his shows."
In 1989, the designer married Annette Reed
Annette de la Renta
Annette de la Renta is an American philanthropist and socialite married to the fashion designer Oscar de la Renta.-Birth and childhood:...
(born 1939). She is the former wife of American Heritage
American Heritage (magazine)
American Heritage is a quarterly magazine dedicated to covering the history of the United States for a mainstream readership. Until 2007, the magazine was published by Forbes. Since that time, Edwin S...
magazine publisher Samuel Pryor Reed and is the only child of German banker Dr. Fritz Mannheimer and his wife, Marie Annette Reiss
Jane Engelhard
Jane Engelhard was an US philanthropist, best known for her marriage to billionaire industrialist Charles W...
.
De la Renta has stepchildren from both marriages. He also has an adopted son, Moises de la Renta.