Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, master of elegance, dies at 82

Oscar de la Renta, the worldly gentleman designer who shaped the wardrobe of socialites and Hollywood stars for more than four decades, has died at 82.

His wife Annette de la Renta told The New York Times that he died from complications due to cancer, a disease he said he beat in recent years.

De la Renta’s speciality was eveningwear, though he also was known for chic daytime suits favoured by the women who would gather at the Four Seasons or Le Cirque at lunchtime. His signature looks were voluminous skirts, exquisite embroideries and rich colours.

First lady Laura Bush wore an icy blue gown by de la Renta to the 2005 inaugural ball and Hillary Clinton wore a gold de la Renta at the 1997 ball. On the red carpet at the Academy Awards, many celebrities each year don his feminine and opulent gowns.

De la Renta’s path to New York’s Seventh Avenue took an unlikely route: born to a prominent family, he left his native Dominican Republic at age 18 to study painting in Spain but soon became sidetracked by fashion. The wife of the US ambassador to Spain saw some of his sketches and asked him to make a dress for her daughter – a dress that landed on the cover of Life magazine.

That led to an apprenticeship with Cristobal Balenciaga, and then de la Renta moved to France to work for couture house Lanvin. By 1963, he was working for Elizabeth Arden couture in New York and in 1965 had launched his own label.