{"id":27492,"date":"2014-10-20T23:12:12","date_gmt":"2014-10-21T03:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=27492"},"modified":"2014-10-20T23:21:08","modified_gmt":"2014-10-21T03:21:08","slug":"rip-oscar-de-la-renta-his-work-is-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/rip-oscar-de-la-renta-his-work-is-done\/","title":{"rendered":"RIP, Oscar de la Renta: “His Work Is Done”"},"content":{"rendered":"

ABC News confirmed<\/a> through a family member that fashion designer Oscar de la Renta has died, aged 82. The news comes a week after de la Renta announced the hiring of his first creative director, British designer Peter Copping. As fashion journalist Robin Givhan wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“… at Oscar de la Renta, an era seems to be nearing a fine and tidy end as the designer prepares his company for its next chapter \u2013 one without him. De la Renta has hired his first creative director. And he has at last won over Michelle Obama. His work is done.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

De la Renta had been diagnosed with cancer in 2006, and the New York Times described him as looking “frail” at his fashion show in September<\/a>. Copping was scheduled to start work on November 3, with his first de la Renta collection to be shown during New York Fashion Week next February. He was still supposed to report to de la Renta, however. Oscar worked right up till the end and it wasn’t just busywork. He was still nabbing headlines, most recently with his bridal-gown design for lawyer Amal Alamuddin’s wedding to George Clooney<\/a>. (An Amal-inspired gown is part of next year’s de la Renta bridal collection<\/a>.)\u00a0 Last year, he hired disgraced designer John Galliano when no one else would<\/a> and, in 2012<\/a>, he indulged in a meat-themed feud with New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn<\/a>. This year, Horyn wrote in Harper’s Bazaar<\/a> that she was still friendly with the designer and shed some light on his motive:<\/p>\n

“… if there’s one thing I know from covering Oscar for three decades, it’s that he’s intensely competitive. A good fight, even a phony good fight, magnifies power. It also creates a ton of publicity, as Oscar reminded me with a grin when I saw him a few weeks later.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Over the years, de la Renta dressed many First Ladies<\/a>, which is why it was news when Michelle Obama wore one of his designs this month<\/a>. Another recent de la Renta design I liked was the one Sarah Jessica Parker wore to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute gala<\/a>. The ballgown’s skirt was adorned with Oscar’s bold red signature.<\/p>\n

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