Tributes to designer fashion Oscar de la Renta

Oscar De la Renta: Died at his US home from cancer. Picture: AP

The Dominican-born designer died at his home in Connecticut after a decade-long battle with cancer.

His elegant, feminine creations have been adored by US first ladies and Hollywood A-listers for half a century, ever since fashion icon Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis began stepping out in his designs in the 1960s.

The death comes less than a month after this year’s most celebrated bride, Amal Alamuddin, wore a crystal-encrusted ivory tulle and Chantilly lace gown dreamed up by De la Renta for her wedding to George Clooney.

“It’s the most important dress in the life of a woman,” De la Renta said. “Any girl from any walk of life dreams of that special dress, and I try to make that dream a reality for her.”

Stars such as Emma Watson, Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Lawrence, Sarah Jessica Parker and Victoria Beckham have all appeared on the red carpet wearing his dresses, while Diana, Princess of Wales, was also a fan.

He was associated with Hillary Clinton for many years, and dressed her for the 1997 inaugural ball. She called the designer “a dear friend”.

De la Renta worked under Elizabeth Arden before breaking away to set up his own label in Manhattan in 1965. He said at the time: “I like light, colour, luminosity. I like things full of colour and vibrant.”

Even as he ailed over the past decade, the business grew by 50 per cent to attain $150 million (£90m) in sales. The designer is survived by his wife Annette and his adopted son Moises, a designer at his label.

A handwritten statement from stepdaughter Eliza Reed Bolen, an executive at the fashion house, said De la Renta died surrounded by family, friends and “more than a few dogs”.

It continued: “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.

“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.”

De la Renta was born in the Dominican Republic in 1932 but moved to Madrid to study painting. It was there he discovered a love of fashion.

He made his name in the US, helping New York emerge in the 1970s and 1980s as a fashion capital to rival Paris and Milan.

He created an “international style” based on the “idea of feminine beauty”, said Valerie Steele, director of the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

“He never shied from saying what he did was make pretty dresses. The goal of the pretty dresses was to make women look pretty. He would dress a woman, her daughter and granddaughter, and they would all feel happy.”