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Oscar de la Renta had planned to be a painter. When he was 18 he moved from his native Dominican Republic to Madrid to study art at the Academy of San Fernando.
To earn extra money, he found work as a fashion illustrator for Spanish newspapers and it was during this time that an interest in the world of fashion design took hold. Sketching for the newspapers led to a position as a fashion illustrator at the famed couture house of Cristobal Balenciaga, where eventually de la Renta became design assistant.
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 View Oscar de la Renta's photos from the show |
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In 1961 de la Renta made the move to Paris to work under the direction of Antonio del Castillo at Lanvin. In 1963 he moved even further a field – this time to New York to design the couture collection of Elizabeth Arden. Here he began to realize the potential of the ready-to-wear market. In 1965 he had the opportunity to create his own ready-to-wear label and hasn’t looked back since.
Today Oscar de la Renta is a major figure in fashion who is known for luxurious clothes, in particular extravagant and opulent eveningwear. In addition to the Signature ready-to-wear and Pink Label collections, the world of Oscar de le Renta includes a high-end sportswear collection, cosmetic cases, eyewear, furs, jewelery, lingerie, scarves, sleepwear and swimwear. A recently launched accessory collection consists of belts, jewelry, scarves and shoes. Under license, De la Renta produces hosiery, sport coats, suits and trousers for men. For the South and Central America and Mexican markets, there is a sportswear line for men and boys and Oscar Jeans for men and women.
From 1993 until just this year de la Renta designed the haute couture collection for the house of Pierre Balmain, giving him the distinguished honour of being the first American to ever design for a French couture house.
De la Renta has had remarkable success with fragrance. He launched his first fragrance for women, Oscar, in 1977. It was an immediate hit. In 1991 Oscar received the Fragrance Foundation’s Perennial Success Award and to this day remains a best seller in more than 70 countries around the world. The designer hopes to follow up that accomplishment with the introduction this year of Intrusion, his second women’s fragrance. De la Renta has also achieved success with men’s fragrances, first with Pour Lui in 1980 and most recently in 1999 with the introduction of Oscar for Men. In 1995 he received the Living Legend Award from the American Society of Perfumes.
De la Renta has been honoured many times for his contribution to the world of fashion, including receiving Lifetime Achievement and Designer of the Year Awards from the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America). And in a fitting tribute to his background in the arts, in 2000 de la Renta received the Gold Medal of Bellas Artes from the King of Spain.
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