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Designer Oscar de la Renta dies at 82

Oscra de la Renta had been diagnosed with cancer in 2006, however he continued to lead an active life
Oscar de la Renta in 2009 EPA/Carlos Ortega
Oscar de la Renta in 2009
© EPA/Carlos Ortega

NEW YORK, October 21. /TASS/. The American fashion designer Oscar de la Rena died on Monday aged 82 in Kent, Connecticut, The New York Times reported.

He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2006, however he continued to lead an active life. During these years his business grew by 50%, his sales reached $150 million.

Biography

Oscar de la Renta was born in Santo Domingo on July 22, 1932. He graduated from the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts. At the age of 28, he was asked by the United States ambassador in Spain to design a graduation dress for her daughter. This dress became his pass-ticket to the world of big fashion. The girl in a dress from an aspiring fashion designer appeared on the cover of Life and Oscar de la Renta was offered a job in the Madrid salon of Cristobal Balenciaga.

Two years later he moved to Paris and began to work with the Lanvin fashion house. In 1963, he left for the USA, where he soon opened his own fashion house. 

Oscar de la Renta was married twice. In 1967 he married Françoise de Langlade, who was one of the most beautiful women of France, and at that time was an editor-in-chief of French Vogue. Françoise de Langlade often visited social events and acquainted her husband with people of influence in a fashion world, which contributed significantly to his business success.

Six years after her death, in 1983, he married American aristocrat Annette Rid.

His adoptive son and stepchildren from the first marriage were helping Oscar de la Renta in running the huge fashion house. He did not have children of his own.