Oscar de la Renta
A Dominican Success Story!
Born in Santo Domingo the Dominican Capital City in 1932 – Oscar de la Renta studied at the National School of Art from the ages of 18 until he was 20 at which time he left to study in Spain. He attended the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid and during this time his inclination towards fashion design came to the fore. Oscar’s big break came in 1956 when the wife of the then US Ambassador to Spain asked him to design a dress for her daughter after being impressed by his drawings. Snapped by photographers fitting Miss Beatrice Lodge’s dress – he made his first appearance in the prestigious LIFE magazine. Soon after this he joined the renowned design studio of Balenciaga. In 1961 he joined Antonio del Castillo then heading up design for the house of Lanvin, in Paris. A couple of years later he moved on to Elizabeth Arden. Then joined Jane Derby from 1965 until 1969, when she died and having taken over the business it was renamed ‘Oscar de la Renta’. In many respects he made his name during the sixties a period when his particular style was clearly recognized.
Expanding the 'de la Renta' Brand!In 1967 Oscar de la Renta was married to Francoise de Langlade. A perfect pairing of high class designer and the senior editor of Vogue. Francoise sadly passed away in 1983. Just before the 1990’s Oscar married his second wife Annette Reed. Their son Moises, now in his mid 20’s has followed in his fathers footsteps and is already making his mark as a fashion designer. Oscar de la Renta’s talent has led him to expand his interests over time from ladies fashions to Men’s clothing, furnishings, interior design and the development of a range of his own label perfumes. He also designed for the famous French fashion house of Balmain from 1993 to 2001, alongside continuing to run his own design house. Throughout his life of international success Oscar de la Renta has never forgotten his Dominican roots and has actively supported charitable concerns helping many children from some of the poorest Dominican families. Schools and day-care centers in the Dominican Republic have been built with his substantial financial support. Oscar de la Renta has also invested in developments, and contributed to the design requirements of several high quality hotel and leisure activity complexes in the South and East of the Dominican Republic such as in and around Punta Cana/Bavaro resort. In some of these investments he has been partnered by another well-known name of Spanish heritage – the world famous singer, Julio Iglesias.
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