World Famous Designer. Oscar de la Renta Creates

World Famous Designer. Oscar de laRenta Creates Excitement bY Visit

, ,Elegant, clean-cut, handsome and warm". Thosewere the impressions ere-

atedbytheworldreknowndesigner,Oscar de la Renta, on a recent visitto st. Thomas. There was genuineexcitement as he mingled withguests at a fashionable receptionheld to welcome him to St. Thomas'business community. He displayeda warmth and genuine friendlinessthat is reflected in his ability todesign clothes and concoct per-fumes that appeal to many womenof all economic levels.Oscar de la Renta was born in the

Dominican Republic 60 years agoand migrated to the United Statesin the early 1960s. Prior to going tothe U.S. mainland, he spent vaca-tions on st. Thomas several times."In fact, he adds, "I waited for mygreen card between here andPuerto Rico". He stayed atBluebeards Castle and the Shibuiback then and remarked on theenormous changes to the islandssince that time. He told of his firstexperienceindrinkingPina Colada.He enjoyed it so much, he orderedseveral drinks of it one morning,not knowing that it contained alco-hol, and found himself quite in-ebriated very early in the day. Hehad fond memories of staying in st.Thomas before finally moving tothe United States.He later moved to Spain where

he attended the Academie of SanFernando, to study Art. His origi-nal interest was to study art and itwasn't until he showed some of hissketches to well-known designerBalenelaga, that he was encouragedto become a designer. Later, hewould work for Lanvin and Eliza- .beth Arden. He was greatly influ-enced by Balenciaga. Balenciaga,he feels, is a great craftsman, andhis influence is reflected in thedesign of Oscar de Ia Renta.Oscar de la Renta was the first

American designer to show a col-lection in Paris. He won a standingovation from th~ international pressat his Paris debut of his Fall 1991

by Debra Browncollection. Now he has shows inNew York and Paris. Although en-thused with the reception his Parisshow received, Oscar de la Rentasay, "naturally, I will continue toshow in New York where the pres-

tigeofmy Americanshowsissograti-fYing and, after all, that is where itall began." "To have a successfulbusiness you have to have globalbusiness". When he first starteddesigning, he designed for thewomen ofleisureandmoney. Today,his designs are forthe active woman,clothes that are practical and versa-tile. Oscar de Ia Renta bas gone onrecord saying he "adores women."Oscar de la Renta returned to the

Virgin Islands this time to promotehis new fragrance, Volupte'. Hissignature fragrance, it is now a best-selling prestige fragrance in 00coun-tries and won the prized FragranceFoundation Award in 1978 for bestwomen's packaging, and is recog-

nized industry-wide as a true time-less classic. When he createdVolupte', he wanted to be sure that itwould not be a fragrance that wouldcompete with his first fragrance.Volupte' is a fragrance for the

women of the nineties. It is a sen-sual fragrance with a blend of floraloriental, and a surprise twist offruitnotes that make up its aura. It tooktwo and one half years to developand market. He wanted to create afragrance that would glorifY women.Volupte', pleasure to all the senses,is a name that was inspired by theBaudelaire poem, L'Invitation auVoyage. This is a fragrance so dif-ferent that he wanted to create aperfume bottle that would reflect itsaura. The flacon is exquisite in itsappearance. It is a smooth, roundedglass with a green caochan topthatlookslike an emerald. The bottlewas designed by famed perfumebottle designer, Pierre Duner andwas the result of Oscar de Ia Renta'slove for an Emerald stone that heborrowed from a friend many yearsbefore. "Volupte' is more than afragrance, it is a state ofbeing ...thatmoment of absolute pleasure whenall the senses are aroused and thespirit is liberated".This famed creator of beautiful

clothing and exciting fragrances hasanother side to him that is most en-dearing. Oscar de la Renta supportsan orphanage in Santo Domingo,where he was born. The orphanageis the home to 350 children. He wasrecently honored as one of thecountry's most distinguished citi-zens. But most importantly is thewarmth with which the designer de-scribes the children of the orphan-age ... "to look at the child's face andsee a smile, that is the biggest re-ward",Oscar de la Renta and his wife of

three years recently adopted aneight- year-old boy from the orphan-age. When asked, whether he willvisit the Virgin Islands again, he re-plied that usually when he thinks oftaking a vacation these days, he goeshome to his island. However, whoknows. Maybe he will come backagain .•

26 PRIDE MAGAZINE SEPfEMBER, 199