Oscar de la Renta

He finished high school in Santo Domingo, and although his father preferred that he join him in the insurance business, young Oscar persuaded his mother to send him to Madrid to study art. At 19, a year after her death, he left for Spain on a passenger ship. Mr. de la Renta was soon spending more time in the cafes and nightclubs, meeting flamenco dancers, than in class. For extra money, he drew clothes for newspapers and fashion houses. He later admitted that his drawings were not technically accomplished or original. Nonetheless, some of his sketches were seen by Francesca Lodge, the wife of John Davis Lodge, then the United States ambassador to Spain. In 1956, she asked Mr. de la Renta to design a coming-out dress for her daughter Beatrice. The dress and the debutante appeared on the cover of Life that fall. He was soon working in the Madrid salon of Cristobal Balenciaga, perhaps the greatest couturier of that period. He went to see Antonio del Castillo, the designer at Lanvin, who was looking for an assistant. Mr. de la Renta remained with Mr. Castillo from 1961 to 1963, when he decided to try his luck in the United States. He joined Elizabeth Arden, which then produced a couture line. In 1965, Mr. de la Renta left Arden to join the Seventh Avenue company of Jane Derby, as partner and designer. Miss Derby retired shortly after, and Mr. de la Renta took over, with backing from Ben Shaw. The brand eventually grew to include fragrances, boutiques in the United States and abroad, and dozens of licenses. His death was confirmed by his wife, Annette de la Renta. The cause was complications from cancer. Though ill with cancer intermittently for close to eight years, Mr. de la Renta was resilient. During that period his business grew by 50 percent, to $150 million in sales.