Oscar de la Renta: the man who dresses the First Lady: board member of the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the American Society, and the Spanish Institute, founder of schools in the Dominican Republic for poor children - Top Ten Latinos

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, Dec, 2003 by Miriam Martinez

THERE IS NO Dominican more international than Oscar de la Renta. Undoubtedly, his craft and contributions to contemporary fashion have somehow paved the way for the current array of other art expressions that bring the Latino feel to universal proportions. To many he is considered an ambassador of the Latino culture and an icon of elegance, style, and sophistication.

His artistic drive to become a painter led him to the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid at the age of 18. His father's urge to make the young artist put the brush to canvas was some kind of encouragement to continue pursuing his craft. He was determined to stay. Money was scarce, but his skills earned him a post as a fashion illustrator for some Spanish publications. His sketches caught the eye of "The Master" Cristobal Balenciaga, one of the most innovative fashion designers of the 20th Century. De la Renta soon became his design assistant.

Outstanding Spanish fashion designer, Antonio del Castillo, also spotted the talents of the disciplined young Dominican and took him under his wing at Lanvin in Paris.

New York was the next port of call, and in 1963, under the patronage of legendary Elizabeth Arden, the combination of craftmanship and understanding of the elements of American style gained him charge of the haute couture branch of the company.

He soon noticed from his European experience, that the pret-a-porter market was waiting to be developed in the US, and he proposed his ideas to his new mentor.

However, Arden was not willing to keep abreast of new and unexplored business trends and declined De la Renta's proposal. Again, the Dominican made a risky move, when Jane Derby Ltd, asked him to launch his own line. The challenge involved a reduced salary but also posed the opportunity to acquire up to 33 percent of the company, a prospect too good to ignore.

A groundbreaking year in his career was 1966, when the company changed the label's name to the Oscar de la Renta signature. Eventually in 1974, along with Gerald Shaw, the full ownership of the entreprise was in their hands.

Global deals in the industry, big scale production, and a wide range of products such as accesories, perfumes, and house apparel by a fashion firm are now common practice, but in the mid-70s such practices were envisioned by this gifted designer and business trendsetter. Today, his company draws a profit of $500 million a year.

His accolades in the fashion world abound. Among a long list of awards, he's been a two-time winner of the Coty American Fashion Critic Award; he received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA); De la Renta was the first American designer to create a collection for the House of Balmain in 1993. The French Legion d'Honneur awarded him as Commandeur; the Dominican Republic government honored him with the Order of Merit de Juan Pablo Duarte and the Order of Cristobal Colon; in 2000 he received the CFDA Womensweer Designer of the Year Award and the Gold Medal of the Arts from the King of Spain.

He is a devoted patron of the arts serving as a board member of institutions such as the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the American Society, and the Spanish Institute, among others. As a philantropist, De la Renta established two schools in the Dominican Republic attended by 1,200 undeprivileged children.

De la Renta's creations not only dress the rich and famous, including Hillary Clinton, Barbara Walters, and Laura Bush; but he also designed the uniforms of police officers in the Dominican Republic. His sharp business vision has now turned to a luxury real estate development in Islas de la Bahia in Honduras along with his long-time fiend Julio Iglesias. His formula for success is simple: hard work, a clear vision of his clients, and renewing his spirit and creativity in his summer house at Punta Cana.