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October 20, 2014

Oscar de la Renta Loved Powerful Women

By Véronique Hyland

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Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images, Ron Galella/WireImage, Dimitrios Kambouris/FilmMagic, Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

Plenty of designers pay sound-bite-length tribute to so-called “strong women.” Oscar de la Renta actually dressed them. The designer, who passed away today at the age of 82, was the preeminent outfitter of powerful women over his nearly five decades in business, whether they were First Ladies, CEOs, society grandes dames, or everyday women.

De la Renta had his share of A-list front-rowers over the years — Beyoncé, Jessica Simpson before she was a designer, Victoria Beckham before she was a designer — but he never based his choices only on star quality. (Plus, as he told New York in 2005, “[Actresses] are more of a hassle to deal with than anything else. They tend to be insecure people. Insecure and capricious. These are two bad qualities.”) No, de la Renta’s clothes always stood for something larger than the celebrity red-carpet circuit — they are part of a larger tradition that has now touched generations of women. “When you wear Oscar, a little bit of New York’s Gilded Age rubs off on you,” Lauren Santo Domingo told New York last year. 

Still, he was not just the official attirer of the “ladies who lunch,” a term he claimed to hate. His designs — color-splashed, feminine, and most often bearing the imprint of his island home, Santo Domingo — were a far cry from any idea of the “safe” political wardrobe, yet he garnered admirers like Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin. (“This man has been working for more than 20 years to turn me into a fashion icon, despite [my] best efforts,” Clinton joked while presenting de la Renta with Carnegie Hall’s Medal of Excellence last year.) He also counted among his fans fellow designers Diane von Furstenberg and Tory Burch, CNN correspondent Alina Cho, former Planned Parenthood head Faye Wattleton, and burgeoning mogul Aerin Lauder, all ladies who do far more with their lives than just lunch. De la Renta’s genius lay, in part, in unlinking femininity and flightiness. Yes, you can wear taffeta or florals or a dangling pair of statement earrings and still be taken seriously, he proved.

Oscar de la Renta and friends photographed in 2013. (L-R): Faye Wattleton, Tory Burch, Diane von Furstenberg, Alina Cho, Jenna Bush Hager, Lauren Santo Domingo, Catie Marron, Eliza Bolen, Aerin Lauder, Oscar de la Renta, Diana Taylor, Barbara Bush, Huma Abedin. Photo: Ruven Afanador

“Whether it’s for First Ladies or the lady on the street, he really tries to understand what people want, what people need, he tries to get people,” de la Renta’s son-in-law and CEO Alex Bolen told the Daily News earlier this year. And his rapport with his clients was legendary. Born in the Dominican Republic, he apprenticed at Balenciaga, under Cristóbal himself, and at Lanvin under Antonio Castillo. He began his solo career by dressing Beatrice Cabot Lodge, daughter of John Cabot Lodge, the actor turned American ambassador to Spain. (She wore her de la Renta debutante gown on the cover of Life magazine in 1956.) From then on, de la Renta moved smoothly through a network of social swans. He attracted Diana Vreeland as a mentor; she got him a job working for Elizabeth Arden, designing custom gowns. Soon, Babe Paley and Pat Buckley became clients. He dressed Jacqueline Kennedy, beginning a tradition of First Lady outfitting — he’d later clothe Nancy Reagan, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama. When he was hired to helm Balmain Couture in 1993, de la Renta became known as the “Concorde Couturier,” jetting to and fro to work on his collections, which strutted out on the likes of Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell. “I don’t really know how to do casual clothes,” he once told Women’s Wear Daily. Instead, he favored cream-puff poufs and dramatic gowns. De la Renta once said he hated the word pretty, which is a tad surprising given the ultrafemininity of his clothes.

The designer was also known for always speaking his mind, courting controversy in a world where most designers’ interactions with the public are carefully PR-managed. When Michelle Obama wore a J.Crew cardigan to meet Queen Elizabeth in 2009, de la Renta told WWD, “You don’t … go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater.” Two years later, he took the First Lady to task yet again for wearing Alexander McQueen to a Chinese state dinner. Again speaking to WWD, he said, “My understanding is that the visit was to promote American-Chinese trade — American products in China and Chinese products in America. Why do you wear European clothes?” The First lLady never responded, but his designs were absent from her wardrobe until they made a notable appearance at this month’s Fashion Education Workshop at the White House.

Though de la Renta was known to speak out, at heart he was a mild-mannered family man. Despite his affection for so many prominent women, those he was closest to were his wife Annette, a publisher, and stepdaughter Eliza Reed Bolen, who heads up the designer’s licensing arm. (Son Moises has also worked for him.) And despite his glittering array of prominent friends, he was, by all accounts, no snob. Anna Wintour once observed, “You can be having dinner with Oscar and the Clintons, and he’s a vivacious host who takes care of everything. Then, after the meal, he’ll go back into the kitchen and play dominoes with everyone who prepared the meal.”

Relive some of de la Renta’s greatest moments in our slideshow below.

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Hillary Clinton: Oscar de la Renta Tried to Make Me a Fashion Icon
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1 / 26 Photos
Audrey Hepburn and Oscar de la Renta, 1988  At the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards.  Photo: Ron Galella/Getty Images
Oprah Winfrey and Oscar de la Renta, 2010 At the Costume Institute Gala Benefit.  Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Oscar de la Renta and Anna Wintour, 2013 At Giorgio Armani's One Night Only NYC. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Oscar de la Renta and Liza Minnelli, 1989 At the Eighth Annual CFA Awards. Photo: Ron Galella; Ltd./Getty Images
Sarah Jessica Parker and Oscar de la Renta, 2004  At the the Fragrance Foundation's 32nd Annual "Fifi" Awards.  Photo: Greg... Sarah Jessica Parker and Oscar de la Renta, 2004  At the the Fragrance Foundation's 32nd Annual "Fifi" Awards.  Photo: Gregory Pace/Getty Images
Oscar de la Renta and Diane von Furstenberg, 2012 At the Metropolitan Opera's 2012 opening night performance. Photo: Steve Eichner/Corbis
Oscar de la Renta, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Her Majesty Queen Sophia of Spain, 2013 At the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute 2013 Gold Medal Gala.... Oscar de la Renta, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Her Majesty Queen Sophia of Spain, 2013 At the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute 2013 Gold Medal Gala. Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images
Diane Vreeland With De La Renta   Photo: Tony Palmieri/The Cond�� Nast Publications
Oscar de la Renta and Bianca Jagger, 1995 At Fundraising Gala for the Hispanic Foundation of New York City. Photo: Ron Galella; Ltd./Getty Image... Oscar de la Renta and Bianca Jagger, 1995 At Fundraising Gala for the Hispanic Foundation of New York City. Photo: Ron Galella; Ltd./Getty Images
Oscar de la Renta, Joan Rivers, and Isaac Mizrahi, 1990  At the 1990 Femme Awards for American Style.  Photo: Ron Galella/Getty ... Oscar de la Renta, Joan Rivers, and Isaac Mizrahi, 1990  At the 1990 Femme Awards for American Style.  Photo: Ron Galella/Getty Images
Laura Bush and Oscar de la Renta, 2004  At the Laura Bush, Ambassador for Heart Truth, Heart Disease Awareness Campaign.  Photo:... Laura Bush and Oscar de la Renta, 2004  At the Laura Bush, Ambassador for Heart Truth, Heart Disease Awareness Campaign.  Photo: Gregory Pace/Getty Images
Gwyneth Paltrow and Oscar de la Renta, 2001  At the Fashion Group International "Night of Stars" Gala.  Photo: Evan Agostin... Gwyneth Paltrow and Oscar de la Renta, 2001  At the Fashion Group International "Night of Stars" Gala.  Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images
Pat Buckley and Oscar de la Renta, 1987  At Diana Vreeland's 15th Annual Costume Exhibition.  Photo: Ron Galella/Getty Images
Nancy Reagan, 1988  Wearing Oscar de la Renta at the President's Dinner. Photo: Diana Walker/Getty Images
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Anna Wintour, and Oscar de la Renta, 2005 At an amfAR Benefit.  Photo: Jeff Vespa Archive/Getty Images
Sarah Jessica Parker, Barbara Walters, Oscar de la Renta, and Bette Midler, 2009 At the Oscar de la Renta Fashion's Night Out party.  ... Sarah Jessica Parker, Barbara Walters, Oscar de la Renta, and Bette Midler, 2009 At the Oscar de la Renta Fashion's Night Out party.  Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
 Betsy Bloomingdale and Oscar de la Renta, 1994  At the Oscar de la Renta fall fashion show.  Photo: Ron Galella; Ltd./Getty Images
Pat Buckley, Oscar de la Renta, and Mercedes Kellogg, 1987  At the Council of Fashion Designers of America Dinner.  Photo: Ron G... Pat Buckley, Oscar de la Renta, and Mercedes Kellogg, 1987  At the Council of Fashion Designers of America Dinner.  Photo: Ron Galella/Getty Images
Beyonce Knowles and Oscar de la Renta, 2005 At the Oscar de la Renta fall fashion show. Photo: Gregory Pace/Getty Images
Former First Lady Nancy Reagan and Oscar de la Renta, 2011 At the 22nd Annual Spring Luncheon by the Colleagues. Photo: David Livingston/Getty I... Former First Lady Nancy Reagan and Oscar de la Renta, 2011 At the 22nd Annual Spring Luncheon by the Colleagues. Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images
Eliza Reed Bolen and Oscar de la Renta, 2004 At 2004 New Yorkers for Children Annual Fall Benefit. Photo: Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty... Eliza Reed Bolen and Oscar de la Renta, 2004 At 2004 New Yorkers for Children Annual Fall Benefit. Photo: Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty Images
Nancy Kissinger and Oscar de la Renta, 1987 At an AIDS benefit. Photo: Ron Galella/Getty Images
Victoria Beckham and Oscar de la Renta, 2007 At the the Oscar de la Renta spring 2008 fashion show.  Photo: John Parra/Getty Images
Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera, 2012 At the 2012 Couture Council for the Museum at FIT Award for Artistry of Fashion to Oscar de la Renta... Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera, 2012 At the 2012 Couture Council for the Museum at FIT Award for Artistry of Fashion to Oscar de la Renta. Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Annette Reed and Oscar de la Renta, 1983 At a screening party for Doonesbury. Photo: Ron Galella; Ltd./Getty Images
Annette de la Renta and Oscar de la Renta, 2005  At the White House.  Photo: Chris Greenberg/Getty Images
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