Teresa Evans Intro to Fashion Business Designer Analysis Spring ‘14
History The legendary designer originally born and raised in the Dominican Republic, was raised by an upper-middle class family, which included six sisters. At the age of eighteen, he left Santo Domingo, D.R. to study art in Spain. The year was 1951, and he was focusing on his painting skills while enrolled at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. At this time he was actually aspiring to be an abstract painter. However, Oscar became infatuated with the world of fashion, and let it sweep him and his illustration skills off his feet instead. After a year in Spain, Oscar de la Renta’s mother died back in Santo Domingo. His biggest fan was no longer there to support him, and his father pressured him to come back to the island to take over the family insurance company. When Oscar refused, his father cut his funds off, and if it weren’t for his sisters sending him money, his career would have not been the same. De la Renta didn’t want to have a side job on top of school, he was too focused on his art. Fortunately, he found a job as a fashion illustrator. He had the wonderful job of sketching for the designers at many leading fashion houses in Spain. They would pay him to sketch their final designs to be published in magazines. This experience was how the world of fashion became exposed to de la Renta,
and eventually it helped him land an apprenticeship with Christobal Balenciaga. From there, the rest is history. Oscar left Spain to be a couture assistant with Lanvin in Paris. By 1963 he was arriving in New York City to couture design for Elizabeth Arden, and just two years later, he was designing his own readyto-wear label. Basically, it only took him twelve years to become an established designer from the time he was studying to be an abstract painter, and had no idea where is life was about to take him.
Oscar de la Renta to introduce childrenswear By WGSN Newsteam, 13 August 2012 Oscar de la Renta is set to launch his first childrenswear collection this autumn. The designer struggled to find the right partner who also shared his view that the clothes should be appropriate for children, CEO Alex Bolen has revealed. “Childrenswear can very quickly look like clothes for child beauty pageant queens�, Bolen told Associated Press. Last year, de la Renta hired Catherine Monteiro de Barros, founder of the now defunct high-end Portuguese children's line Papo d'Anjo, to create the children's line. The fashion house also wanted to make sure the prices of the children's collection would be relatively affordable in an effort to reach new customers. De la Renta's autumn collection features about 300 styles, ranging from casual to dressier looks. Among the Back-to-School offerings are $95 floral leggings, $155 kilts, $135 cashmere cardigans and $145 wool dresses for girls. For boys, there are $125 wide wale corduroy pants, $250 corduroy blazers and $85 plaid shirts. Party dresses, which feature silk taffeta and velvet, retail at up to $350. For autumn, mothers can buy a dress for their daughter in the same star checked tweed fabric used for a dress in the adult collection. The girl's version is $175. For the spring collection, there will be more looks that will be inspired from the women's collection, but Monteiro stressed they are made for children. Monteiro told AP she was careful to offer fabrics, from cashmere to corduroy, that are comfortable for children to wear and breathe easily. "We're creating clothes that are comfortable, accessible and age appropriate, "she was quoted as saying. "It's really about the innocence of the children." De la Renta's children's designs are being sold at Neiman Marcus stores, the company's Bergdorf Goodman and its own outlets. It plans to broaden its distribution to other high-end stores next year. The company is also considering opening a separate store devoted to its children's collection. The children's line should generate sales of $25m in a few years, Bolen said, contributing less than 10% of total sales.
The article above is another example of de la Renta’s strive for perfection, customer appropriateness, and high-end aesthetic of quality. The company is trying to expand the Oscar de la Renta Empire to more customers, and I think this is a smart way of doing so. Most people know the brand name for red carpet gowns, and even though the brand produces ready to wear clothing, it is very pricey. Introducing a much more (relatively) affordable facet of the label for childrenswear only increases the chances for more women/mothers to also shop the brand for herself. I really like how de la Renta was only willing to work with a designer that would take the line to a more kidfriendly place. He hired Catherine Monteiro for the job, and they were both keen on stressing the wearability and comfort the clothing expressed. All of them being soft, breathable fabrics like corduroy and cashmere. This new childrenswear line also includes dresses with the same prints as dresses from the Oscar de la Renta RTW line. Of course, this will draw mothers into purchasing more of the brand for themselves and their daughter. Anyway, this article really highlights the importance of designers knowing their customers. As a designer, it is important to know exactly who you are designing for before you even start sketching.
Signature De La Renta Oscar de la Renta is known for the classic femininity of his silhouettes portrayed through his gowns, cinched waistlines, and dress suits. He was never interested in the androgynous look, or work wear for women. His clothes are always flattering, and impeccably couture. His hand work skills were displayed with the extravagant beading, sequins, lace, and ruffles. His color palette always consists of either vibrant or rich colors, and he is popular for his use of floral and oriental prints.
Customer Demographics/Psychographics Oscar de la Renta’s customer demographic is typically an older female. However, the consumption of his work by younger crowds has increased. Their customer’s income is very high and are from the upper class of society, since the typical client is in the public eye, like celebrities and first ladies. The de la Renta woman comes from all education levels, religions, and all race and ethnicities. The personality of most of his customers (or psychographics) is a public figure of higher ranking in society, and/or fashion innovators who are conscious of designers, their quality, and current trends.
Price Range The brand has a very high price range. Right now on his website, de la Renta is selling his current Spring ’14 line of dresses between $890-$6,990. His pricing is high because he uses quality fabrics and some couture handwork. The dress selling for almost $7000 is embroidered with two different patterns including appliqued beads and crystal sequins. This same dress is also one hundred percent silk. His ready to wear line ranges from $790 tops to the $7000 dress. As for his evening gowns, they range from $3,290-$12,990.
Size Range The designer’s gowns range from size 0-16 and small through large, but on his website most of his items only have some of the sizes available to purchase. For the other sizes it says “contact us” so it can be made to order. His RTW line has sizes small through large, but again not all of the sizes are always readily available.
Fiber Fabrication Oscar always uses high end, luxury fabrics, and natural fabrics; organza, linen, silk, tweed, chiffon, tulle, and fur. His dominant use of these fabrics is to raise his brand’s quality, prices, and reputation. Therefore he uses the delicate expensive, 100% real and natural fabrics.
Oscar in the Marketplace The Oscar de la Renta brand is still carried by many retailers, and he still provides custom made gowns (for the famous or extremely wealthy of course). The designer is currently sold at luxury department stores like: Bergdorf Goodman’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks 5th Avenue, Barneys NY, etc. Oscar de la Renta bridal is sold at many bridal boutiques such as B. Hughes, Casa de Novia, and The Wedding Salon of Manhasset. He is also sold at designer boutiques, and of course Oscar de la Renta stores.
Oscar de la Renta: Glamour Guru Oscar is a legendary designer that simply captures the beauty and elegance of classic, female-flattering garments. What catches my eye is his attention to detail. His couture work is beautiful and polished, and he always seems to be able to renew the classic silhouettes into modern trends with ease.
His Reigning Influence Young designers that are so called his “followers� are Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung, Peter Som, and Zac Posen. In one article that I read, I found a very
interesting way of explaining how the original guru, and his new admiring designers dress the modern day woman. They “seem most interested in dressing a kind of rarefied woman, a fashion butterfly who lives an idealized life rather than one filled with hurdles and hard work. She may be accomplished, but her clothes do not speak of power and authority, ease and confidence... this woman is more of a damsel than a dame.� (Givhan, The Daily Beast)
Historical Influence Oscar de la Renta has been known, and only growing his business from 1965 to today. In my opinion, in that time he has constantly been providing his unique customer with beautiful garments that enhanced the beauty of their natural femininity. All while the trends and styles have changed over the years, he has managed to always keep his customers happy and pretty, while in some way or another keeping his styles modern and refreshed. No matter what his looks were always signature Oscar. He used different fabrication techniques,
colors, and stylistic details to keep up with the trends. His historical importance is that he has always brought his customer back to the classic 1950s, damsel in distress beauty, which he grew up viewing as his mothers and sisters were dressed.
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Bibliography Oscar De La Renta. Web. 10 March. 2014. http://www.oscardelarenta.com/. “Oscar de la Renta to introduce childrenswear.� Worth Global Style Network (WGSN)- wgsn.com. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. http://www.wgsn.com.emils.lib.colum.edu/content/report/News/2012/Aug_Stori es/Aug_13/News_Story_Aug_138.html
“Oscar de la Renta Biography.” Biography.com Web. 01 March. 2014. http://www.biography.com/people/oscar-de-la-renta-9270239 “Oscar De La Renta, Fashion Designer.” Infomat.com Web. 10 March 2014. http://fashion.infomat.com/oscar-de-la-renta-designer.html “The Oscar de la Renta Effect.” The Daily Beast- thedailybeast.com. Web 16 March 2014. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/13/new-yorkfashion-week-young-designers-oscar-de-la-renta-influence-for-spring.html Darraj, Susan Muaddi. Oscar De La Renta. New York: Chelsea House, 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <http://books.google.com/books? id=A7cGQgAACAAJ&dq=oscar+de+la+renta+by+susan+muaddi+darraj&hl=en&s a=X&ei=aCEpU-CFBOef2QXM_oGYCg&ved=0CEYQ6wEwAA>.