Oscar de la Renta sadly passed away at his home in Connecticut on Monday at the age of 82. Although his cause of death is not immediately known, the designer had been battling cancer since 2006. According to a handwritten statement given to The Associated Press and signed by his stepdaughter Eliza Reed Bolen and her husband, Alex Bolen, the CEO of Oscar De La Renta, the Dominican Republic-born iconic fashion designer died surrounded by family and “more than a few dogs.”
It is an unquestionable fact that de la Renta designed for the high-society ladies, and it is also impossible to begin to describe in a few lines his love for his craft and how accomplished he became throughout his half-century long sublime career. From first ladies to the red carpet, he dressed every famous woman in this planet. His rich style and talent kept him relevant to this day. He signed the gorgeous French lace and tulle wedding dress that Amal Alamuddin wore when she married George Clooney last month in Italy, which we all know was the wedding of the year.
Recently, de la Renta had appointed Peter Copping as the creative director of his brand; Copping had been artistic director of Nina Ricci since 2009. Since they both have a very similar aesthetic, I am hopeful that Copping will continue the magic that de la Renta spread in the fashion world.
We at TheBlot Magazine selected these 10 Oscar de la Renta quotes to help perhaps define what was more important to him as a designer. He loved women, and that’s why his mission was to make them look and feel beautiful. He is survived by his wife, Annette, adopted son, Moises and two other stepchildren.
1.
“When I started, the woman went to the store to buy a dress. She saw it in pink and red, and then she remembered that the husband, who is probably going to pay for the dress, loves it in pink. So she buys the pink. Today, the same woman goes to the store and remembers the husband likes pink, and she buys the red.
2.
“There is no sound more feminine than a woman in a taffeta dress.”
3.
“I design clothes for women to wear. I am not interested in shock tactics. I just want to make beautiful clothes.”
4.
“Never, ever confuse what happens on a runway with fashion. A runway is spectacle.”
5.
“If you wear a different perfume every day, I do not recognize you.”
6.
“Although I have no plans to tweet, I am fascinated by developments on the Internet.”
7.
“We live in an era of globalization and the era of the woman. Never in the history of the world have women been more in control of their destiny.”
8.
“My job as a designer is to make a woman feel her very best.”
9.
“I don’t really know how to do casual clothes.”
10.
“I’ve lived every day to the fullest, and I’ve had a marvelous time. I’ve tried to be nice to the people I care about, and ignore the ones I don’t. I enjoy what I’ve done.”
Gazelle Paulo is a contributing writer for TheBlot Magazine. Follow him on Twitter and FreakChic.
