It’s never easy to say goodbye to someone- especially when that someone has a global platform- or runway!- and makes the world a more lovely place simply by being a creative force within it.  On Monday, 20th October 2014, this planet lost an incredibly talented and inspiring being in the passing of Oscar de la Renta.  What the world will do without the creative genius of de la Renta remains to be determined, but lucky for us, his legacy will not soon fade.

A world-renowned fashion icon, Oscar de la Renta not only created incredibly couture garments- his work helped define the very essence of American fashion when he began his first label in 1965.  From those first few designs, de la Renta developed a fashion house of the utmost renown.  His garments have been worn to multiple inaugural balls, with First Lady Laura Bush wearing an icy blue number in 2005 and Hillary Rodham Clinton wearing a gold-hued gown in 1997.  From the red carpet where stars such as Penelope Cruz and Sandra Bullock glimmered in de la Renta, to having his designs appear on the wildly-popular “Sex and the City,” de la Renta’s designs spoke for him- and they still do.

Remembered by friends and family as an exceedingly generous and warm individual, de la Renta received countless awards and accolades within the Fashion Industry.  Among these are the French Legion d’Honneur as a commandeur as well as the Gold Medal Award from the king and queen of Spain.  It wasn’t until 2004 that de la Renta even gave up his role as chief executive of his design house.

Always full of a deep love for life, Oscar de la Renta has left the world more brilliantly bedecked than he initially found it.  Though his work and life here have been completed, de la Renta’s vast dreams and designs will continue to fill our world with their unmistakable beauty and richness.

Thank you, Oscar, for making the world a more exquisite place.