Late fashion designer Oscar de la Renta to be featured on U.S. postage stamps in 2017

Oscar de la Renta will be part of the lineup for the U.S. Postal Service’s series of stamps for 2017.

Mary-Anne Penner, director for stamp services at the U.S. Postal Service, said, “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.� She described the new stamps as part of a showcase of “miniature works of art to help continue telling America’s story.�

De la Renta is widely known for dressing America’s first ladies and celebrities. He passed away in 2014 and was one of the world’s leading fashion designers for more than 50 years.

For the postal series, the pane of 11 stamps features a black-and-white portrait of the designer — by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin — and 10 details from several of his famous gowns. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps, the U.S. Postal Service said.

De la Renta, who was born on July 22, 1931 in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, passed away at the age of 82 after a long battle with cancer. He was known for his ability to make women look beautiful – stretching from his early days at Elizabeth Arden in the Sixties through the last three decades of the 20th Century and well into the second decade of the 21st. Romantic, glamorous styles were his signature: tastefully extravagant, with Parisian influence and an undercurrent of Latin pizazz.

De la Renta had talent, workmanship, creativity and class, and he was a particular favorite of first ladies Nancy Reagan, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush. Current First Lady Michelle Obama donned one of his dresses at a White House event for fashion students. In addition to first ladies, he was best known for his designs for the Ladies Who Lunch, as well as socialites and top executives. He also appealed to younger celebrities, including actresses Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Garner and Lea Michelle. And his fashion house received worldwide publicity for dressing Amal Alamuddin for her wedding to George Clooney in Venice.

At the time of his passing, Donatella Versace in her tribute called him “American fashion royalty.�

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