Oscar de la Renta honoured with namesake New York street

Mayor Bill de Blasio has signed a bill that will see the late fashion designer have a street named after him in the city in which his eponymous brand was based

BY Bibby Sowray | 12 February 2015

Photo: Rex

Almost four months after his death, Oscar de la Renta will be honoured with a namesake street in New York.

The exact location is yet to be revealed, but the honour is part of a bill signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio on February 5 which will see a total of 56 thoroughfares and public places in the city renamed.

Speaking at the home of Made Fashion Week in Manhattan on Tuesday evening, Fashionista reports that the Mayor called the designer a "giant of the industry" and that "no one is more deserving than him of that."

"He will forever be ingrained in the fabric of the city," de Blasio said.

Remembering Oscar de la Renta: "It's not about what you wear, but about how you live your life"

De la Renta passed away on October 20, 2014 surrounded his family and "more than a few dogs" following a long battle with cancer. Born on July 22, 1932 in Santo Domingo, he began his career with legendary couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga in Paris, before moving on to the house of Lanvin, where he assisted then-lead designer Antonio Castillo. He moved to New York in 1963 to head up the made-to-measure collection for Elizabeth Arden, encouraged to take the job by legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland.

In 1965 he began working for label Jane Derby, which then became known as Oscar de la Renta for Jane Derby and then - following the death of Derby - simply Oscar de la Renta, as it is known today. The designer gained a controlling interest in the fashion house in the late Eighties.

His death came just six days after he announced his successor at his eponymous, New York-based fashion house - British designer Peter Copping, who will show his first collection for the brand next week during New York Fashion Week.