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Oscar de la Renta, Who Clothed Stars and Became One, Dies at 82

By CATHY HORYN and ENID NEMYOCT. 20, 2014

O scar de la Renta, the doyen of American fashion, whose career began in the 1950s in

Franco’s Spain, sprawled across the better living rooms of Paris and ew !or", and who was the last s#rvivor of thatgeneration of bold, all$seeing tastema"ers, died on %onday at his home in &ent, 'onn( )e was *+(

)is death was confirmed by his wife, Annette de la enta( -he ca#se was complications from cancer( -ho#gh ill withcancer intermittently for close to eight years, %r( de la enta was resilient( .#ring that period his b#siness grew by 5percent, to /150 million in sales, as his name became lin"ed to celebrity events li"e the scars( Amy Adams, Sarahessica Par"er and Pen2lope 'r#3 were among the actresses who wore his dresses(

ecently his biggest co#p was to ma"e the ivory t#lle gown that Amal Alam#ddin wore to wed 4eorge 'looney in enice(

.etermined to stay relevant, %r( de la enta achieved fame in two distinct realms6 as a co#t#rier to socialites 7 theso$called ladies$who$l#nch, his bread and b#tter 7 and as a red$carpet "ing( )e also dressed fo#r American firstladies, b#t it was )ollywood glit3, rather than nice #ptown clothes, that defined him for a new age and a newc#stomer( #st as ast#tely he embraced social media(

%any high$end designers had bigger b#sinesses( Some were more original( 8#t very few were fearless eno#gh to adato a c#lt#ral shift( %r( de la enta did it twice in his career, the first time in 19*0(

ormally he didn’t dwell on the s#bect of his legacy( :n an interview in +009, at his home in P#nta 'ana, in his nativ.ominican ep#blic, he said of fashion6 ;:t’s never been heavy( Somebody might as", <=hat is scar de la enta>’ An

 yo# co#ld say, <:t’s a pretty dress(?@

:nstead, he preferred to o"e, or tal" abo#t his vegetable garden in &ent, or dish the dirt( )e rarely shied fromcontroversy or calling someone o#t( -hree years ago, he chided %ichelle bama for wearing foreign labels( )einsisted that his comments were not made beca#se she never wore his things( Bvent#ally, this month, she did(C ncein a speech, he offered to send three$way mirrors to certain editors who wore minis"irts( 8#t then, all his life %r( de

enta loved being where the action was 7 whether a gala, a dominoes table, or in his vario#s homes entertainingtalented and infl#ential friends(

;)e notices everything,@ ohn Fairchild, the retired p#blisher of =omen’s =ear .aily, said a few years ago( Atelephone call from %r( de la enta might begin with a familiar bit of flirtation6 ;)ow are yo#, my darling> -ell me thgossip(@

:n 19*0, he and his first wife, a former editor named Francoise de Danglade, posed for the cover of -he ew !or"-imes %aga3ine, with the headline, ;Diving =ell :s Still the 8est evenge(@ 8y then, %r( de la enta had lived in ew

 !or" for 1E years 7 less time than rivals 8ill 8lass and 4eoffrey 8eene(

-he article, which described the stylish co#ple’s #ninhibited social ascent 7 and the array of people who came to the

;salons,@ ranging from orman %ailer to )enry &issinger 7 was a "ind of watershed moment( Fashionable peoplehad long been part of the city’s social scene that wasn’t news( 8#t, as a point of contrast, when -r#man 'apote heldhis 8lac" and =hite .ance in 19GG, only a tiny fraction of the 5H0 g#ests were dress designers( -hey became more

 visible d#ring the 19E0s, b#t -he -imes %aga3ine article, by Francesca Stanfill, now p#t their money and stat#s o#t the open(

 As AleIander Diberman, the editorial director of 'ond2 ast, said, ;.esigners have become the new tycoons(@ %r( dela enta soon embar"ed on the neIt phase of his career6 as a designer to first ladies, beginning with ancy eagan(

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-ho#gh %r( de la enta never too" his ob lightly, he always gave the impression that his life mattered more( )e hadenormo#s 3est, displayed in his fashion 7 the vibrant colors, the airy sleeves, the -#r"ish delight n#mbers that soappealed to his greatest champion, the editor .iana reeland(

8#t where he really revealed himself, his hospitable nat#re, was in the .ominican ep#blic, where he was regarded aan #nofficial ambassador he held a diplomatic passport anywayC( )e b#ilt two homes there( -he first, in 'asa de'ampo, feat#red thatched roofs, rattan f#rnit#re and hammoc"s, and images of the de la entas’ informal gatheringoften appeared in = in the 19E0s(

-he second home, in P#nta 'ana, tho#gh imposing in the 'olonial style, with wide verandas and its own chapel onthe gro#ndsC, also had a relaIed feeling( %r( de la enta b#ilt the ho#se with his second wife, the former AnnetteBngelhard eed, whom he married in 19*9, following the death of Francoise, from cancer, in 19*J(

:n addition to his wife, Annette, %r( de la enta is s#rvived by a son, %oises three sisters three stepchildren andnine step$grandchildren(

 At holidays, the de la entas filled their ho#se in P#nta 'ana with relatives and friends, notably 8ill and )illary'linton, ancy and )enry &issinger and the art historian ohn ichardson( -he family dogs had the r#n of thecompo#nd, and %r( de la enta often sang spontaneo#sly after dinner( First$time visitors, see"ing him o#t in the latafternoon, were s#rprised to find him in the staff K#arters, hellbent on winning at dominoes(

 A man of the world, he was at ease everywhere( -ho#gh he once said, ;-o me, home is wherever Annette is,@ thenadded with a droll la#gh, ;She co#ld be #nbelievably happy witho#t me(@

scar Aristedes de la enta was born in Santo .omingo on #ly ++, 19J+( -he yo#ngest of seven children and the on boy, he often recalled that he #s#ally got what he wanted from his family( )e finished high school in Santo .omingoand altho#gh his father preferred that he oin him in the ins#rance b#siness, yo#ng scar pers#aded his mother tosend him to %adrid to st#dy art(

 At 19, a year after her death, he left for Spain on a passenger ship(

8esotted by postwar %adrid, and his new freedom, %r( de la enta was soon spending more time in the cafes andnightcl#bs, meeting flamenco dancers, than in class( As well, he acK#ired a ;seLorito@ wardrobe, he told the writerSarah %ower, which consisted of c#stom$made s#its from the tailor D#is Dope3, high starched collars and a carnatio

of deepest red in his b#ttonhole( -he /1+5 his father sent each month paid for fancy clothes and in a sense his broadeed#cation afoot in Spain(

For eItra money, he drew clothes for newspapers and fashion ho#ses( )e later admitted that his drawings were nottechnically accomplished or original( onetheless, some of his s"etches were seen by Francesca Dodge, the wife ofohn .avis Dodge, then the Mnited States ambassador to Spain( :n 195G, she as"ed %r( de la enta to design acoming$o#t dress for her da#ghter 8eatrice( -he dress and the deb#tante appeared on the cover of Dife that fall

)e was soon wor"ing in the %adrid salon of 'ristobal 8alenciaga, perhaps the greatest co#t#rier of that period( %r( la enta’s ob was to s"etch dresses to send to clients( 8#t when he as"ed %r( 8alenciaga to transfer him to the mainst#dio in Paris, the co#t#rier told him he wasn’t K#alified yet and to wait a year(

:nstead, armed with letters of introd#ction, %r( de la enta left for Paris and was immediately offered a ob at'hristian .ior(

-he following day he went to see Antonio del 'astillo, the designer at Danvin, who was loo"ing for an assistant( ;)eloved me beca#se : spo"e Spanish, and he as"ed me if : co#ld c#t, drape and sew, and of co#rse : said yes,@ %r( de laenta told 8ernadine %orris, a former fashion reporter for -he -imes( ;)e offered me a little more money than .iorand : said : wo#ld start in two wee"s( -hen : went to a fashion school and as"ed the woman who ran it if she co#ldteach me the year’s co#rse in two wee"s(@

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%r( de la enta remained with %r( 'astillo from 19G1 to 19GJ, when he decided to try his l#c" in the Mnited States( ) oined Bli3abeth Arden, which then prod#ced a co#t#re line( %r( de la enta recalled that when %s( Arden as"ed howm#ch money he wanted, he threw o#t the largest n#mber he co#ld thin" of 7 /E00 a wee" 7 and then sat bac" to

 wait( ;.id : have the "now$how to really earn that>@ he recalled( ;Probably not(@

SiI months later, when %s( Arden complained abo#t his long vacation in B#rope, he cannily proposed dinner at herapartment, where he let her win at cards( ;From then on : co#ld do in that ho#se anything,@ he said(

:n 19G5, %r( de la enta left Arden to oin the Seventh Aven#e company of ane .erby, as partner and designer( %is

.erby retired shortly after, and %r( de la enta too" over, with bac"ing from 8en Shaw( -he brand event#ally grew tincl#de fragrances, bo#tiK#es in the Mnited States and abroad, and do3ens of licenses(

%r( de la enta formed close friendships with the first ladies he dressed, in partic#lar ancy eagan and %rs( 'linto8eginning in 199E, in %r( 'linton’s second term, %r( de la enta helped %rs( 'linton streamline her style, withsignat#re pants#its in bright pastels( %rs( 'linton li"ed to say, somewhat drolly, ;)e’s been wor"ing for +0 years tot#rn me into a fashion icon(@

%r( de la enta made his deb#t as a co#t#re designer in Paris in 199J, showing a collection for Pierre 8almain( )e became the first American to design an important co#t#re collection in Paris since %ain o#ssea# 8ocher, "nown as%ainbocher, closed his salon there in 19H0( -he ho#se of 8almain, a fiIt#re on the fashion scene since 19HG, hadfo#ndered after its creator’s death in 19*+, and before %r( de la enta’s arrival, several designers had been responsibfor the line(

%r( de la enta also showed his ready$to$wear collection in Paris for three seasons, in 1991 and 199+( -he shows wers#bstantially bac"ed by Sanofi, the prod#cer of his fragrances 7 scar and So de la enta for women, and Po#r)omme, for men(

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COMMENTS

)e was presented with 'oty Awards, chosen by a #ry of fashion editors, for having had the most significant infl#encon fashion in both 19GE and 19G*( :n 19EJ he was named to the 'oty )all of Fame, and in 19*9 he was given a lifetimachievement award by the 'o#ncil of Fashion .esigners of America(

.#ring his long career, %r( de la enta was among the few designers who "new the difference between the r#nway

and fashion(

;ever, ever conf#se what happens on a r#nway with fashion,@ %r( de la enta once said( ;A r#nway is spectacle( :t’sonly fashion when a woman p#ts it on( 8eing well dressed hasn’t m#ch to do with having good clothes( :t’s a K#estionof good balance and good common sense(@