With whom better to talk shop—or, for this issue, shopping—than Oscar de la Renta, whose name graces nearly every thing the sophisticated soul desires? His fashion empire encompasses crisp white men’s shirts and couture wedding gowns; perfume and fine home furnishings; not-It bags and classic baubles. Morning-TV matriarch Barbara Walters is a big fan and so’s prime-time-soap princess Blake Lively. Seems that, no matter how widely diversified, de la Renta’s style stock is blue chip. And, septuagenarian though he may be, the debonair designer shows no signs of slowing down. FASHION caught up with him in Barcelona, where he was judging the 2009 El Botón-Mango Fashion Awards, to chat about what women want to—and should—buy.
A lot of designers are collaborating with fast-fashion retailers like Mango. Would you ever do a collab of your own? “If the opportunity is the right opportunity. The circumstances have to be right, and the manner in which it’s promoted and shown is important, no question about it.”
You’ve been the recipient of many fashion awards. Is it better to give or to receive? “Both. I think it’s nice to share. It’s interesting that Mango is doing this to promote young designers, especially in times like these. It’s very important for a young talent to have financial help.”
We’re in Barcelona. Do you have a favourite place in the city? “I lived in Spain very early on in my life. I was an art student in Madrid many, many years ago, and then I started working in fashion in Spain. I think Barcelona is to Spain what Milan is to Italy. In many ways, it’s the commercial capital of the country—it’s an enormously energetic city, very progressive. When Picasso left his native Milan, the first place he came, and where he did a lot of his early work, was Barcelona.”
Are you a fan of Picasso? “Of course, I love Picasso. There was a very, very interesting show in New York about the last years of his life, his work. It’s gotten a tremendous response. People always look at Picasso’s early years as his best years, but it turns out that in the last 18 years of his life, he was a tremendous artist.”
Do you think the same could hold true for you, about your last years? “My last years of my work have not started yet.”
When you’re looking at young designers, do you ever see someone and think, Oh, that could be the next Oscar de la Renta? “There is never the next someone. I think that to be a good designer and to mark your time, you have to be your own.”
Let’s talk about shopping a little bit. “Are you going to take me shopping?”
I’m a writer, you’re a designer—if anyone should be taking anyone shopping, you should be taking me! Do you have a favourite shop? “I actually shop for myself very little. But I love to go to the stores because I like to be aware of what people are buying.”
Who’s your favourite person to shop for? “I don’t know. I don’t shop for anyone but myself!”
Your wife’s going to kill you. “I would hate to shop for my wife, because she will hate everything I pick for her.”
What’s the last thing you bought? “Some candies, last night in Morocco! It’s very unexciting for us men. We wear the same clothes all the time. You women have so much more at your disposal to strike your fancy.”
What kind of woman buys Oscar de la Renta? “I have a very wide range, from very young to, well, there is no such thing as age in a woman. Today, the most important customer is a professional woman who doesn’t have to say to her husband, ‘Can I buy this?’ but can do it on her own.”
What’s one thing a woman should buy every season? “Something she falls madly in love with."
First published in FASHION Magazine October 2009
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