Oscar De La Renta remembered by friends, celebrities, first ladies and fashion icons

Since the passing of iconic fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, on Monday the world mourned his loss. Friends, Colleagues Celebrities and Fashion Icons of all stripes took to social media paying tribute to him and acknowledging his legacy. Luminaries from Anna Wintour to the Clintons shared fond memories of the legendary designer.

His Family
De La Renta's son in law Alex Bolen(chief executive officer of Oscar de la Renta, the LLC) and step daughter Eliza Reed Bolen (executive vice president) released a statement saying “While our hearts are broken by the idea of life without Oscar, he is still very much with us. Oscar’s hard work, his intelligence, and his love of life are at the heart of our company. All that we have done, and all that we will do, is informed by his values and his spirit. Through Oscar’s example we know the way forward. We will make Oscar very proud of us by continuing in an even stronger way the work that Oscar loved so much.”


The Clintons
Hillary,Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky spoke of De La Renta's brilliance in a joint statement released on their website. "We are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend, Oscar de la Renta,His singular talent and exquisite taste elevated American fashion, and his warmth and friendship will be missed by our family and all whose lives he touched in his extraordinary journey." The statement continued, "We will always be grateful to Oscar for the love he showed us, and for sharing his talent on some of the most important occasions of our lives."

Anna Wintour
The Editor-In-Chief of Vogue was a very close friend of De la Renta. "His last words to me were I love you, and I said I love you back," she wrote on Vogue.com. Praising his wisdom and kindness, Wintour further wrote, "He always said accept your friends for who they are, not for who you want them to be. Oscar was everything you could want a friend to be."His strength, his courage, “must have been with him in the hospital last week when he made the decision to turn off treatment; it was not the quality of life he wanted.”

Michelle Obama
First Lady Michelle Obama said in a statement "Oscar de la Renta was a pioneer and a visionary who helped generations of women embrace their most beautiful, confident selves. My thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Diane Von Furstenberg
Fellow Designer Diane Von Furstenberg told E! News "Oscar was a couturier, an artist, a gentleman, a true Renaissance man, his voice will continue to sing in our hearts!"

Barbara Walters
The Legendary anchor had this to say "Oscar de la Renta was not just a creative and original artist he was also a great business man. He was most of all one of the wisest, kindest, and funniest friends you can have. All of us who had the pleasure of knowing him, have aching hearts today. Our thoughts are with his beloved Annette."

Karlie Kloss
Supermodel Karlie Kloss paid tribute to De La Renta and thanked him. She took to Instagram sharing a photo of herself and the Mogul designer saying "The world lost one of the most extraordinary people that I have ever met. Thank you for helping me become the woman I am today and for always inspiring me to be better. There simply is no one else like you."

Coco Rocha
The ever stylish Coco took to social media to pay her respects saying "Today fashion lost one of the greatest couturiers of the last century. I'm forever grateful to have had the chance to wear his creations and I'll always remember Mr. De La Renta as a gentleman and a class act. Oscar was never afraid to speak his mind or share his point of view - whether that be on the runway or on the written page. He was a pillar of New York fashion and will be sorely missed."

Naomi Campbell
Top model Naomi Campbell tweeted : "The Gentleman of Fashion you will always be!!! R I P.". She also shared a picture of herself and Iman on the ODLR runway captioned "You made this a dream come a true!!"

The Bush Family
Former US first lady Laura Bush paid tribute saying "We will miss Oscar's generous and warm personality, his charm, and his wonderful talents." Mrs Bush said. "My daughters and I have many fond memories of visits with Oscar, who designed our favourite clothes, including Jenna's wedding dress. We will always remember him as the man who made women look and feel beautiful." Daughter Jenna Bush Hager shared her memories of De La Renta on NBC's Today Tuesday. "[My mom, Barbara Bush, said that] more than anything, [he made] women feel beautiful. I had the honor of becoming good friends with him while he made my wedding dress." "I just adored him and I will think of him often," she added.