The designer recently visited Toronto for a benefit gala presentation of his fall/winter collection at the Carlu.
Oscar de la Renta brings out the best in women. It's something he has aspired to do for 45 years, since starting his own label. And judging by the well-heeled ladies who turned up for the designer's benefit gala presentation of his fall/winter collection at Toronto's Carlu this week, he is still accomplishing his mission. The city's elite pulled out all the stops, sporting an eclectic array of spectacular frocks, all in honour of the 77-year-old Dominican-born fashion legend. The personification of charm, de la Renta has a debonair style that makes women swoon, and his romantic, beautifully crafted collections are as sumptuous as they are timeless.
It was in the name of three children's charities, and at the behest of philanthropic socialite and fashionista Suzanne Rogers that de la Renta came to Toronto - his first visit in more than a decade. I spoke with the legendary designer about how fashion has changed over the years, and his enduring passion for it.
Fashion has changed a lot since those early days when you first got into the business. Yet still, the role of the fashion designer seems pretty important. Women are still looking to you.
Yes, but what has changed is that today, there is no loyalty among consumers. And I say this in a nice way. There is no loyalty. When I started working in fashion, a woman chose one house, and season in and season out, she always went to that house for clothes. Today, there is not that kind of loyalty. Today, what is most important to that woman is not the label she is wearing but that what she is wearing projects a sense of individuality and who she is as a woman. I think that's what is so exciting about fashion today. The woman becomes the creator: She puts herself together. As the world becomes more and more uniform, we're rebelling against that and we want to express our individuality. And we're doing that by mixing and matching and putting things together in our own way. Today's woman knows that the most important thing is to really project who she is … how is she going to project her inner self? That is important.
It must excite you to see women take what you offer them and make it their own.
What's interesting as well is the power of femininity today. I survived the late seventies and eighties, where women slaved to be in a so-called man's world, when women really became true professionals. And everyone was wearing grey pantsuits! Fashion was very understated. Today, a woman knows to put on lipstick, to look great, to put on a beautiful dress, to show her legs. It's all very exciting and a tremendous asset. Showing who you are, and feeling strongly about what you are, is an asset.
Confidence is a blessing that not everyone has. But you do help people to a certain degree.
That's my role as a designer: To give women possibilities, to try to understand what their dreams and what ambitions are, and try to fulfill those.
The nature of the business has changed so much too. I still remember vividly when you were designing couture in Paris for Balmain. In my mind, you're still doing that level of design for modern women in America. But do you feel that's an era whose time is over?
I think that couture prices itself out of the market altogether. There are very few houses that really address a consumer today when they design a couture collection. There are a lot of houses - and I'm not going to name them, but you know them all - that try not to dress a consumer, but rather try to advertise a product. In a way they've fallen into a trap that they cannot get out of. Who's designing clothes in Paris that address the consumer? Very, very, very few people: probably two or three, no more. Fashion in that sense has changed tremendously. Fashion today is a global business and you have to approach it that way. It's funny because sometimes, when I travel, people ask me to comment on the style of women in their particular cities. I tell them that if they think that way, they're putting the women of those cities down. Today, the most stylish women aren't the women of any particular city: The most stylish woman is a citizen of the world. It doesn't matter what nationality she is, or even what she's wearing - just that she's expressing who she thinks she is.
Your brand is of utmost importance to you. You recently went to a lot of expense to buy back the rights to your name for fragrances.
All my fragrances are very important to me, because a fragrance is like an invisible dress. It's another way of dressing a woman. And in fact, Canada has been one of our biggest markets for fragrances. I'm hoping that I can recuperate this market the way it used to be.
What have you learned in your career that you wish you would have known as a young man?
I have the memory of a mosquito, so I never look back. I always look forward. I just hope that I always keep this sense of curiosity, enthusiasm and love for what I do. That's the most important thing.
I know you're very conscious of supporting young designers. What do you say to them?
Work hard. Nothing happens without a lot of work. Believe in yourself, and strive for the best, no question. Never reach for the small door, reach for the big door. And remember that the fashion business today is a global business: You have to project yourself.
Jeanne Beker is the host of FashionTelevision.