fashion
OSCAR A Conversation With
The celebrated couturier shares his thoughts on designing for women, for brides-to-be and for the future. By Susan Weissman | Photography by AndrĂŠa Fazzari
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issue four 2009 | FOUR seasons magazine
F O U R s e a s o n s m a g a z i n e | ISSUE f o u r 2 0 0 9
osc ar de la renta
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gallantry and warmth have made him a favourite of socialites, celebrities and professional women alike. But behind the gracious demeanor is an intuitive businessman who’s thrived for nearly five decades in what is arguably the most fickle and competitive of industries, dressing women ranging from Hillary Clinton to Sarah Jessica Parker. He is Oscar de la Renta. And at this point in his career he’s hotter than ever, with women aged 20 to 80 filling their closets with his fashions. As busy as he is—with stores throughout the U.S. and in Dubai, Athens, Madrid and one soon to open in Moscow, he took the time to speak with us from his atelier in New York about women and fashion.
Four Seasons Magazine: You are perhaps best known as a couturier. I’m wondering how this influence is translated into your collections?
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Oscar de la Renta: Haute couture actually has lot of different meanings for many different people. For me, it simply means custom-made clothes. With haute couture, you are obviously addressing a much smaller consumer base and your prices can be much higher. You can let your imagination go and use more embroidery and more expensive fabrics, but the concept of designing either one is the same. How has the woman you design for today changed?
The woman I am dressing today is a very different woman than the woman I dressed many years ago when I first came to this country. The woman I dress today is a professional woman. This development is exciting for designers, especially from the issue four 2009 | FOUR seasons magazine
previous pages, left to right: Designer Oscar de la Renta; intricate hand embroidery these pages, clockwise from top left: The beginnings of a design; a de la Renta wedding gown; today’s woman buys clothes to fit her busy lifestyle; luxurious fabrics form the basis of couture design.
“The days are gone when a woman would wear one designer from head to toe. . . . Today women buy clothes that fit their lifestyle and reflect their individuality. As a designer, you have to know that your jacket will be worn with somebody else’s blouse. That’s evolution.”
point of view that when I first started designing clothes— because my clothes have always been expensive—the woman would have to ask her husband if she could buy a dress. Today, a woman has the buying power to do this without asking [permission]. Certainly, it’s more challenging given that women have a more diversified life. Besides having a life of glamour and travel, she has a working life as well. I keep saying that the 21st century is the century of the woman. Women did important things in the past that they never got credit for. Today, women are powerful and they understand the power of their femininity in the workplace.
How does a woman’s wardrobe differ today from earlier in your career?
The days are gone when a woman would wear one designer from head to toe. When I started designing clothes, a woman identified with a single label and each season would order her clothes from the same place. Today, women buy clothes that fit their lifestyle and reflect their individuality. As a designer you have to know that your jacket will be worn with somebody else’s blouse. That’s evolution. What basic must a well-dressed woman have in her closet today?
Every woman should have a suit that fits perfectly, and makes her feel beautiful and feminine. F O U R s e a s o n s m a g a z i n e | ISSUE f o u r 2 0 0 9
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osc ar de la renta
these pages, left to right: For celebrities or for career women, Oscar de la Renta turns his careful eye to the details; de la Renta believes that a wedding gown, often the most important dress a woman will buy, should be “the essence of femininity.�
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Now Hear This . . . | Go to FourSeasons Magazine.com and search “Oscar de la Renta” to see a video and hear the fashion mogul in his own words.
How does a woman stay current yet age-appropriate?
I think that the key to dressing today is to develop a personal style that reflects who you are. Ultimately, style is about wearing what you love and knowing what looks best on you. You have a wedding collection in addition to your ready-to-wear collection. If I came to you for a wedding dress, what sort of counsel would you give me?
In most instances, I probably would turn the question around and ask you what sort of dress you would like to have. I think most girls—with very few exceptions—think of this day in their life and have a very clear of idea of how they want to look. [He laughs.] The problem is when the girls come with their mothers. The mothers often have a completely different idea of what their daughters should wear. So when this happens, I ask the mother if she would mind if I talk to her daughter first. A mother usually has a certain idea of what her daughter should look like. But that oftentimes has nothing to do with what the daughter has in mind. Are there any hard and fast rules about what a bride should wear?
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Today, I would say the wedding dress is about the essence of femininity. Most girls want to look romantic and feminine above all. Strange enough, all the brides want strapless dresses, which is funny to me since I come from a very Catholic country where, in my time, you couldn’t walk into a church in a strapless dress. For someone who is getting married for a second time, do you have any advice about what to wear?
[Oscar sings] . . . Love is wonderful the second time around . . . you know, I think the second time around can be as good as the first. I issue four 2009 | FOUR seasons magazine
these pages: All in the details, Oscar de la Renta’s couture designs incorporate interesting and luxurious fabrics, hand beading and imaginative notions to give each garment a unique look and feel.
don’t think you should think that you should be austere and wear a little white suit or not wear white at all. My sisterin-law wore red after I suggested the colour would be perfect for her. And white, which many people don’t know, is a fairly recent colour for brides. Before the Victorians, who associated white with youth and virginity, brides wore colour.
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“There’s always a challenge to be at the top of the group, which I think encourages us all to do our best work. As a designer, you are always striving for excellence. . . . In this economic environment, you must work harder to make a woman love your clothes enough to buy them.”
Where do you think fashion is headed in the next 50 years?
I feel lucky to work in this business at this point in time because there are a lot of talented designers working today. Fashion is such a dynamic industry where you have artists both new and established at all stages of their careers. There is always a challenge to be at the top of the group, which I think encourages us all to do our best work. As a designer, you are always striving for excellence and now maybe more than ever. In this economic environment, you have to work harder to make a woman love your clothes enough to buy them. I am optimistic about the future of fashion. Women will always be enticed and inspired by beautiful clothes. If designers can do this [inspire], then the next 50 years of fashion will be fantastic. 4S Susan Weissman is
the executive editor of Four Seasons Magazine.
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