Oscar de la Renta to be one of four new US stamps in 2017

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Jan 2, 2017

Oscar de la Renta is set to me memorialized in stamps in 2017. The Postal Service announced on Wednesday that the late designer is to appear on stamps to be issued in 2017. Other stamps to be issued include the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO, the Lili'uokalani Gardens in Hilo, Hawaii and the azulillo flower.

The Oscar de la Renta stamps include a black and white portrait taken by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin and 10 details from iconic Oscar de la Renta gowns.

"The new year is shaping up to be exceptional as the Postal Service continues to produce stamps that celebrate the people, events and cultural milestones that are unique to the history of our great nation," said Mary-Anne Penner, U.S. Postal Service Director, Stamp Services. "We are very excited to showcase these miniature works of art to help continue telling America's story as we add to the lineup of 2017 stamps announced earlier."

The famed designer passed away in 2014 from complications from cancer. Oscar de la Renta was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and was trained by Cristobal Balenciaga before establishing his own atelier. He rose to fame after becoming one of the designers to dress Jacqueline Kennedy. Oscar de la Renta also worked for Lanvin and Balmain and became the first Dominican designer to work for Balmain.

Following his death, Peter Copping took over as Creative Director of Oscar de la Renta. De la Renta himself selected Copping to succeed him as Creative Director, and he stepped down from the role in 2016 after serving for two years. The fashion house later named Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim the Co-Creative Directors. The duo launched fashion label Monse after working for Oscar de la Renta.