Photos by Emma Craft
The “Oscar de la Renta: His Legendary World of Style” exhibit at the SCAD Museum of Art is a collection of romantic, elegant gowns worn by some of the most iconic women of modern times.
Echoing the memory of the rose wall at the head of the designer’s last spring/summer 2015 Ready-to-Wear runway collection, more than 4,500 pink roses frame the entryways to and from the main rooms of the exhibit. Walking into the exhibit is taking a step into another world — a world of delicate ruffles, statement-making bows and timeless beauty. 
More than 70 original Oscar de la Renta gowns have been lent to the museum by the women who wore them, with an expanse of familiar names ranging from Sarah Jessica Parker, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift to Bee Shaffer and Oprah. Included in the exhibit are dresses from first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, who were dressed almost exclusively by de la Renta.
Storm Jarse van Rensburg, the head curator of SCAD Exhibitions, noted how each of the garments seem to echo the spirit of the women who wore them.
“Something that I found became very important to me during this exhibition was the personalities of the people that these dresses were made for,” said Van Rensburg. “I think that’s one of the cool aspects of this exhibition: that it honors the relationships that Oscar de la Renta had with the women he dressed.”
Regardless of the differences between the pieces, the common denominator between all is an elegance and sincere appreciation for the women wearing them.
For André Leon Talley, to select the gowns for the exhibit was to revisit precious memories and time spent with a dear friend. Laurie Ann Farrell, the executive director of exhibitions at the SCAD Museum of Art, worked with Talley to select the gowns for the exhibit.
“André always jokes that he can pick a favorite in a section, but not in the exhibit as a whole, because they all remind him of something else,” said Farrell. “Everything brings him back to a memory, a moment with a client or a friend or a particular shoot.”
“He can remember some of these dresses when they were in the pattern stages,” continued Farrell. “So seeing them to fruition all the way from the pattern to the cutting to the actual fittings… It’s very well possible that he attended the event that the gown was worn to, so he had a couple of emotional moments during the process.”
One of the galleries within the exhibit– named after Talley himself — is dedicated exclusively to wedding dresses.
“I think André had the most fun working on this particular part of the exhibition,” said Farrell. “What bride wouldn’t want to be dressed by Oscar de la Renta?”
The collection includes a wedding dress worn by Eliza Reed Bolen, the stepdaughter of de la Renta, which took over 1,300 hours to make, with 10 seamstresses and three layers of Spanish lace. To accessorize the dress, a tiara was designed and printed at SCAD 3-D printing facilities and is embellished with Swarovski crystals.
Another gallery includes a custom made dress worn by Kirsten Dunst for a Vogue photo shoot set in the palace of Versailles.
Bryan Yambao, a fashion socialite and founder of the Bryanboy blog, marveled at the display of such iconic gowns that were worn on these memorable occasions.
“Oscar’s work is so diverse, but the one that struck me the most was Elle King’s dress — the really short, patch-worked multi-textured dress,” said Yambao. “That was incredibly modern, and was so different compared to the rest of the collection.”
The span of the dresses selected ranges more than 60 years, with the oldest one being a cashmere sweater and dress from 1965. There is a coat on loan from Anna Wintour from de la Renta’s stint at Balmain in the 1990s and a custom made wedding dress for Elizabeth Shaffer from 2014.
Moving through the various scenes of the exhibit, one is taken on a journey through the glamorous people and moments that are part of the Oscar de la Renta legacy.
The exhibit opens to the public on Friday, Feb. 5, with a special student reception from 7-9 p.m. and runs through May.
