OSCAR DE LA RENTA

As lovers of beautiful fashion, it feels only right to pay a small tribute to the late, great Oscar de la Renta who passed away earlier this week.

Oscar de la Renta was one of the world’s leading fashion designers, famous for his women’s evening wear. His designs are modern yet feminine and most importantly, timeless.

Michael Bloomberg, former New York Mayor, awarded Oscar De La Renta with the Couture Council Lifetime Achievement award in 2012. He went on to salute the designer saying “In an industry where tastes come and go in a New York minute, Oscar’s designs are one thing that are always in vogue. If you think about it, he is the little black dress of high fashion — he just never goes out of style.”

We chose our favourite five dresses as a reminder of the beauty of his designs and the legacy he created in the fashion world.

1. For us, the introduction to high fashion started with Sex and the City. We can still remember our almost-gasp at the bright pink Oscar de la Renta Carrie wore for the date with the Russian to the ballet, ending at McDonalds. Timeless appeal!

2. Does this need any further explanation? A look that defined the last, true era of glamour. Oscar de la Renta was the man behind so many of Jackie O’s iconic looks. Timeless, elegant and gracious.

3. Maybe it’s a Sarah Jessica Parker thing, or a Sex and the City-era thing, but this dress at the 2000 Emmy Awards was about the froth and girly-ness of the show. We love it still today – a reminder of the early “noughties” and the beginnings of the starlet/designer power-coupling on the red carpet.

4. Cameron is not often a regular contender for “best dressed” during award show season, but this gilded dress at the 2010 Academy Awards took her onto several best dressed lists that year. What a girl would do to wear a dress this feminine and beautiful!

5. This outstanding piece worn by Emma Watson screams sophistication, beauty and design without overpowering her. It magnifies her; showcases her beauty. Simple and magnificent.

He was a man who dressed American First Ladies and delighted celebrities on the red carpet. His designs were made to make a woman feel gorgeous and good about themselves – and that certainly came across in every one of his beautiful pieces.

Famously, he distinguished fashion from the runway: “A runway is spectacle. It’s only fashion when a woman puts it on. Being well dressed hasn’t much to do with having good clothes. It’s a question of good balance and good common sense.”

We couldn’t agree more.