The Oscar de la Renta spring 2019 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York on Tuesday. (Richard Drew / Associated Press)

The Oscar de la Renta spring 2019 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York on Tuesday. (Richard Drew / Associated Press)

At Oscar de la Renta, a Mediterranean vacation on a rooftop

There were bold prints, lots of fringe, crocheted dresses and loose, comfy caftans.

  • By JOCELYN NOVECK Associated Press
  • Tuesday, September 11, 2018 3:58pm
  • Life

By Jocelyn Noveck / Associated Press

NEW YORK — Two years into their tenure at the helm of Oscar de la Renta, designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia continue to seek new ways to inject a more relaxed vibe into the label — while maintaining its famous craftsmanship.

On Tuesday, the pair put on a rooftop runway show that felt like a sunny Mediterranean vacation — well, once it actually stopped drizzling. There were bold prints, lots of fringe, crocheted dresses and loose, comfy caftans taking their place among the elegant, structured gowns the label is best known for.

The two moods of the collection could perhaps best be sampled by looking at the show’s opening and closing garments, each modeled by a famous Hadid sister.

Bella Hadid kicked things off in a fringed, sarong-like skirt with a tulip print and a white, one-armed top. And Gigi Hadid finished the show in a long, sheer black lace gown — also with one arm free — with delicate ruffles running up the leg.

Backstage after the high-profile show, which drew celebrities like Nicki Minaj (and her mother), Kate Beckinsale and Dianna Agron, the designing duo had just a few words to describe what they were going for.

“More relaxed Oscar,” Garcia pronounced.

“Lighter,” Kim noted.

“Sexier,” Garcia added.

The two agreed that each season, they’ve experimented just a bit more with the aesthetic of the label’s legendary founder. This time, they thought about all the countries they’d traveled to for inspiration, and then actually made a print from a map of them, which appears on several garments.

“You can see, it goes from Turkey, to Morocco, to China,” Kim said, pointing to a photo on her look board backstage.

A number of the garments had a relaxed, looser fit, and Kim said that had something to do with the weather this year. “It was so hot this summer that I think I personally felt the need for looser clothes,” she said.

Chief among them: caftans, perhaps the ideal vacation garment. “We always had caftans but we never really showed them,” said Kim. “But I’m starting to realize that that’s all I want to wear in summer.”

Colors included a lot of neutrals, but also bold colors like bright canary yellow, and a new terra cotta red. Speaking of canaries, one highly whimsical touch was a white birdcage purse — with a wallet inside, resembling a bird. Not exactly your traditional de la Renta accessory.

For their own, much more casual and younger line, Monse, the two designers had said they metaphorically raided their grandmother’s closet this season (albeit a rich grandmother). So, they were asked, whose closet did they raid for their Oscar de la Renta collection?

“I think everybody in the Mediterranean,” Garcia quipped.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Photo courtesy of Graphite Arts Center
Amelia DiGiano’s photography is part of the “Seeing Our Planet” exhibit, which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 9 at the Graphite Arts Center in Edmonds.
A&E Calendar for July 10

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Snohomish County Dahlia Society members Doug Symonds and Alysia Obina on Monday, March 3, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How to grow for show: 10 tips for prize-winning dahlias

Snohomish County Dahlia Society members share how they tend to their gardens for the best blooms.

What’s Up columnist Andrea Brown with a selection of black and white glossy promotional photos on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Free celeb photos! Dig into The Herald’s Hollywood time capsule

John Wayne, Travolta, Golden Girls and hundreds more B&W glossies are up for grabs at August pop-up.

The 2025 Audi A3 premium compact sedan (Provided by Audi).
2025 Audi A3 upgradesdesign and performance

The premium compact sedan looks sportier, acts that way, too.

Edmonds announces summer concert lineup

The Edmonds Arts Commission is hosting 20 shows from July 8 to Aug. 24, featuring a range of music styles from across the Puget Sound region.

Big Bend Photo Provided By Ford Media
2025 Ford Bronco Sport Big Bend Increases Off-Road Capability

Mountain Loop Highway Was No Match For Bronco

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Mustang Convertible Photo Provided By Ford Media Center
Ford’s 2024 Ford Mustang Convertible Revives The Past

Iconic Sports Car Re-Introduced To Wow Masses

Kim Crane talks about a handful of origami items on display inside her showroom on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Crease is the word: Origami fans flock to online paper store

Kim’s Crane in Snohomish has been supplying paper crafters with paper, books and kits since 1995.

The 2025 Nissan Murano midsize SUV has two rows of seats and a five-passenger capacity. (Photo provided by Nissan)
2025 Nissan Murano is a whole new machine

A total redesign introduces the fourth generation of this elegant midsize SUV.

A woman flips through a book at the Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Pop some tags at Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley

$20 buys an outfit, a unicycle — or a little Macklemore magic. Sales support the food bank.

Kathy Johnson walks over a tree that has been unsuccessfully chainsawed along a CERCLA road n the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Thursday, July 10, 2025 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How Roadless Rule repeal could affect forests like Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie

The Trump administration plans to roll back a 2001 rule protecting over 58 million acres of national forest, including areas in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie area.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.