Celebrity News

Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta dead at 82

Oscar de la Renta — an icon of the fashion world who dressed royals and celebrities — has died at the age of 82.

The famed designer, who created a global empire with his formal wear and evening gowns, died around 8 p.m. Monday at his home in Connecticut after a long battle with cancer, a source told The Post.

Born in the Dominican Republic, the designer came into the public spotlight during the 1960s while dressing First Lady Jackie Kennedy.

De la Renta was well-known for his elegant red-carpet gowns, which were worn by stars such as Cameron Diaz, Kristen Stewart and Penelope Cruz.

“I’m so sad,” fellow designer Tommy Hilfiger told The Post Monday night. “Oscar was an inspiration to me as an American fashion designer. He was a true gentleman. Oscar had taste and class like no other. I will always be inspired by him.”

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Oscar de la Renta has died at age 82.
Oscar de la Renta walks the runway at the Oscar de la Renta Spring 2007 fashion show during Olympus Fashion Week in the Tent in Bryant Park on Sept. 11, 2006, in New York City.Getty Images
From left: Karlie Kloss, de la Renta and Daria Strokous during Fashion Weekstartraksphoto.com
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Anna Wintour, Diane Von Furstenberg, Designer Oscar de la Renta and actress Sarah Jessica Parker attend the 2012 Couture Council for the Museum at FIT Award for Artistry of Fashion to Oscar de la Renta at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on September 5, 2012 in New York City.
Anna Wintour, Diane Von Furstenberg, de la Renta and actress Sarah Jessica Parker attend the 2012 Couture Council for the Museum on Sept. 5, 2012, in New York City.Getty Images
Oscar de la Renta is honored at the 2014 Medal of Excellence Gala in New York.
De la Renta is honored at the 2014 Medal of Excellence Gala in New York.AP
Oscar de la Renta acknowledges the audience after his Fall 2014 collection show during Fashion Week in New York.
De la Renta acknowledges the audience after his Fall 2014 collection show during Fashion Week in New York on Feb. 11, 2014.AP
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Oscar de la Renta and Oprah Winfrey attend the Costume Institute Gala Benefit in New York in 2010.
De la Renta and Oprah Winfrey attend the Costume Institute Gala Benefit in New York in 2010.WireImage
Oscar de la Renta appears backstage before his collection is shown during Fashion Week in New York on Feb. 14, 2012.
De la Renta appears backstage before his collection is shown during Fashion Week in New York on Feb. 14, 2012.AP
Jennifer Lopez hugs Oscar de la Renta at a photo shoot in New York in 2008.
Jennifer Lopez hugs de la Renta at a photo shoot in New York in 2008.ZumaPress
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Oscar De La Renta attends the Diane Von Furstenberg Spring 2013 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Theatre at Lincoln Center on September 9, 2012 in New York City.
De la Renta attends the Diane Von Furstenberg Spring 2013 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Theatre at Lincoln Center on Sept. 9, 2012, in New York City.Getty Images
Oscar de la Renta attends Fashion's Night Out at Saks Fifth Avenue on September 6, 2012 in New York City.
De la Renta attends Fashion's Night Out at Saks Fifth Avenue on Sept. 6, 2012, in New York City.Getty Images
Oscar de la Renta and Lenny Kravitz pose at the Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City in 2005.
De la Renta and Lenny Kravitz pose at the Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City in 2005.Patrick McMullan
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Oscar de la Renta and Diane von Furstenberg at her 2012 collection in New York.
De la Renta and Diane von Furstenberg at her 2012 show in New Yorkstartraksphoto.com
Oscar de la Renta is seen around Lincoln Center during Spring 2013 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on September 9, 2012 in New York City.
De la Renta at Lincoln Center during Spring 2013 Fashion Week on Sept. 9, 2012, in New York City.FilmMagic
Oscar de la Renta and Bee Shaffer are seen at the Gramercy Park Hotel in 2007.
De la Renta and Bee Shaffer at the Gramercy Park Hotel in 2007Patrick McMullan
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Calvin Klein and Oscar de la Renta are seen at the 2007 CFDA Fashion Awards.
Calvin Klein and de la Renta at the 2007 CFDA Fashion AwardsPatrick McMullan
Carolina Herrera And Oscar De La Renta
Carolina Herrera and de la Renta in 1999Getty Images
Oscar de la Renta and his wife Annette De La Renta
De la Renta and his wife, Annette de la Renta, in 2005Getty Images
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Oscar de la Renta and Andre Leon Talley at a 2000 awards ceremony in New York.
De la Renta and Andre Leon Talley at a 2000 awards ceremony in New YorkPatrick McMullan
Former U.S. first lady Nancy Reagan is accompanied by Oscar de la Renta at The Colleagues 22nd Annual Spring Luncheon in Beverly Hills, California April 12, 2011.
Former First Lady Nancy Reagan is accompanied by de la Renta at The Colleagues 22nd Annual Spring Luncheon in Beverly Hills on April 12, 2011.Reuters
Oscar de la Renta attends the Oscar de la Renta Pre-Fall 2011 Collection at 583 Park Avenue on December 6, 2010 in New York City.
De la Renta attends the Oscar de la Renta Pre-Fall 2011 Collection at 583 Park Avenue on Dec. 6, 2010, in New York City.Getty Images
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A skilled craftsman, he recently appeared in a Vogue fashion spread with George Clooney’s wife, Amal, who was wearing his stunning white lace wedding gown.

Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha remembered the icon on social media Monday night.

“Today fashion lost one of the greatest couturier of the last century,” she wrote on Instagram. “I’m forever grateful to have had a chance to wear his creations.”

He became a US citizen in 1969 and was the first American to become the top designer of a French fashion house.

His style was described as a mix of European luxury clothing and American casual wear.

“He makes a woman look like a woman, feel like a woman,” designer Diane von Furstenberg once said about him.

“He has that old-fashioned elegance, and yet he’s able to interpret it in such a modern way.”

Archduchess Maria of Austria wore a de la Renta gown for her 1996 wedding and Queen Noor of Jordan was photographed in his designs for Vogue in 2003.

De la Renta makes one of his last public appearances at the 8th Annual Couture Council Fashion Award honoring Carolina Herrera at Lincoln Center on Sept. 3.Splash News

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg once said his designs “have been to more award shows than Meryl Streep.”

Hillary Clinton introduced a recent retrospective of his designs, saying, “His name alone evokes elegance and timeless beauty. And his designs give each of us a chance to feel like we’re special, too.”

He dressed first ladies such as Kennedy and Nancy Reagan.

In 2001, he dressed Laura Bush in a silver long-sleeved gown for George W. Bush’s inauguration, and Hillary Clinton in a gold cape over a gold long-sleeve gown for the 1997 presidential inaugural ball.

“I still remember when Hillary walked out in that gown,” former President Bill Clinton said in the video tribute.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s beautiful.’ I still think it’s probably the best gift Oscar ever gave us, beyond his friendship.”

Michelle Obama donned a de la Renta dress at a White House cocktail party this month after snubbing him for years after he chided her for her choice of clothing for a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II in 2009.

With Post Wire Services