Oscar de la Renta, the last representative of a generation of designers that marked the second half of the 20th century, began his career from a young age. Trained by the likes of Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo; he became internationally known in the 1960s as one of the couturiers who dressed Jacqueline Kennedy. After the death of his mother and an unsettled childhood in the Dominican Republic, at the age of 19, he went to study painting in Spain at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid.
For extra money, he drew clothes for newspapers and fashion houses. After Francesca Lodge, the wife of John Davis Lodge, the U.S. Ambassador to Spain, saw some of his dress sketches, she commissioned de la Renta to design a gown for her daughter. The dress appeared on the cover of Life magazine that autumn. He quickly became interested in the world of fashion design and began sketching for leading Spanish fashion houses, which soon led to an apprenticeship with Spain's most renowned couturier, Cristóbal Balenciaga, considering him as his mentor and inspiration. In 1961, de la Renta left Spain to join Antonio del Castillo as a couture assistant at Lanvin in Paris.
In 1963, de la Renta turned to Diana Vreeland, the editor-in-chief of Vogue for advice, saying that what he really wanted was to "get into ready to wear, because that's where the money is". Vreeland replied, "Then go to Arden because you will make your reputation faster. She is not a designer, so she will promote you. At the other place, you will always be eclipsed by the name of Dior'. De la Renta proceeded to work for Arden for two years in New York before he in 1965 went to work for Jane Derby and launched his own label.
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When Derby died in August 1965, de la Renta took over the label. And form here onwards, his career grew and grew internationally! From 1993 to 2002, de la Renta designed the haute couture collection for the house of Balmain, becoming the first Dominican to design for a French couture house. His brand saw international wholesale growth beginning in 2003, under the direction of CEO Alex Bolen, from five to seventy-five locations. De la Renta's ready-to-wear designs are available in his retail stores, online, and with select wholesale partners worldwide.
In 2006, the Oscar de la Renta label diversified into bridal wear. De la Renta's designs have been worn by a diverse group of distinguished women and celebrities An award-winning designer, he worked for Lanvin and Balmain; his eponymous fashion house continues to dress leading figures, from film stars to royalty, into the 2010s. In 1977, de la Renta launched his fragrance, OSCAR, followed by an accessories line in 2001 and a homewares line in 2002. The new business venture included 100 home furnishings for Century Furniture featuring dining tables, upholstered chairs, and couches. In 2004, he added a less expensive line of clothing called O Oscar.
The award-winning designer and innovator said he wanted to attract new customers whom he could not reach before. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2006. A year later, at the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Executive Director Fern Mallis called him "The Sultan of Suave'. At a ceremony honouring the designer this year, Hillary Clinton heaped praise upon De la Renta. "This man has been working for more than 20 years to turn me into a fashion icon," she said. Furthermore, de la Renta was defined in 1972 as "a man who dresses up New York but speaks with a Spanish accent", and also parsed as a "designers designer". His fame started to become world when Jackie Kennedy began to wear his clothes, although it did not release his own clothing line until several years later.
