Oscar De La Renta, Legendary Designer, Dies at 82
One of the world’s most legendary and famed fashion designers, Oscar de la Renta, died Monday. He was 82. De la Renta had been battling cancer for the last 10 years and finally succumbed to the disease.
His stepdaughter Eliza Reed Bolen and her husband, Alex Bolen released a handwritten statement : “While our hearts are broken by the idea of life without Oscar, he is still very much with us. Oscar’s hard work, his intelligence and his love of life are at the heart of our company,” the statement said. “All that we have done, and all that we will do, is informed by his values and his spirit. Through Oscar’s example we know the way forward. We will make Oscar very proud of us by continuing in an even stronger way the work that Oscar loved so much.”
Known for dressing celebrities, stateswomen and fashionistas of all kinds De La Renta rose to fame in the 1960s when he dressed Jackie Kennedy. He launched ready-to-wear label in 1965. Former first ladies Nancy Regan, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton have all worn his designs. Current First Lady Michelle Obama wore one of his dresses for the first time earlier this month at a cocktail party. De la Renta’s gowns have been a staple, too, on red carpets, worn by A-list stars like Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman and Sarah Jessica Parker. Most recently, Amal Alamuddin wore a De La Renta designed wedding dress when she married George Clooney last month.
De la Renta was married twice. His first wife, (Former French Vogue Editor) Francoise de Langlade, died in 1983, of bone cancer. In 1989, he married socialite Annette Engelhard Reed, 74. In addition to his wife, De La Renta is survived by an adopted son, Moises; three sisters; three stepchildren; and nine step-grandchildren.
