RIP Oscar de la Renta

Today the headlines signalled a sad day for the fashion world - the iconic Oscar de la Renta has passed away at the age of 82.  

Oscar de la Renta and Anna Wintour earlier this month.  

Supermodel Karlie Kloss mourns.

De la Renta most recently designed and made the wedding dress of Amal Alamuddin for her wedding to actor George Clooney in Venice less than a month ago.  Alamuddin told Vogue that she ‘wanted a wedding that was romantic and elegant, and I can’t imagine anyone more able than Oscar to capture this mood in a dress’.

Hailing from the Dominican Republic, the son of the Mayor traveled to Spain to study art before discovering his love for fashion and beginning to work alongside Cristobal Balenciaga.  He made his name in the 1960s designing for the first lady Jacqueline Kennedy before establishing his own company in 1965.  His work is famously recognisable as feminine, elegant and coloured in soft tones and floral patterns.  

He said of his close friend Hilary Clinton earlier this year, 'She might not like me to say this, but I think she's going to be our next president' - He has famously dressed not only Clinton but Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Nancy Reagan.  

De la Renta and the mesmerising Audrey Hepburn at the 1988 CDFA awards.  

Fern Mallis, Executive Director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CDFA) called him 'The Sultan of Suave'

De la Renta was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, no cause of death has been confirmed.  He was surrounded by family, friends and ‘more than a few dogs’.  He is survived by his adoring adopted son Moises and wife Annette Engelhard.