Oscar de la Renta to be honoured by the Couture Council

Oscar de la Renta will receive the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion next year. 

To kick start New York Fashion Week the eponymous designer will be honoured by the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology for his services to couture fashion across his career spanning six decades.

Chosen by the Couture Council Advisory Committee made up of curators, editors and retailers, de la Renta is the 2012 honouree. Past recipients of the award include Valentino, Karl Lagerfield, Dries Van Noten, Isabel Toledo, Alber Elbaz and Ralf Rucci. 

De la Renta said: “I am honoured to receive this award from the Couture Council of The Museum at FIT.“It is an extraordinary acknowledgement celebrating artistry in fashion, a craft that defines my work as a designer and drives our industry as a whole.”

The designer almost turned his back on haute couture in 1963 after moving to New York and believing that the future of fashion lay in ready-to-wear but thanks to then Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, Diana Vreeland, he continued to use his talent for couture. Today the Oscar de la Renta fashion house encompasses ready-to-wear, bridal, perfume and fur collections alongside his infamous couture.  

Dr Joyce F. Brown, FIT President, said: “We are so pleased to honour this great American designer, who, through his timeless and elegant designs, is a legend to all those who love fashion.  Oscar de la Renta is an inspiration, not only to students of fashion, including FIT’s talented students, but to his fellow designers as well.”

The award luncheon will take place on 12 September 2012.

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Image by Coutorture.