Image courtesy http://www.oscardelarenta.com/runway/spring-2017/
On Monday September 12 Oscar de la Renta brightened NYFW with glamorous designs and intricate detailing.
The dresses uphold the telltale fit and elegance of Oscar de la Renta;
this uniqueness is something easy to see, but harder to define. Today I had the
chance to interview Alex Bolen, executive director of Oscar de la Renta, just a
few days after the company presented their SS17 collection at NYFW. I was able
to ask Alex about the show as well as the announcement of their new co-creative
directors. We also talked about his not so traditional route to Executive
director of a major fashion house and his advice for young fashion industry
hopefuls!
The Oscar de la Renta SS17 collection debuted at the Morgan Library and
Museum to an audience filled with the traditional fashion heavyweights as well
as bloggers, influencers, and celebrities on Monday. I asked Alex
how he thought social media has influenced their show in recent years. He
explained that, while the collection itself wasn't necessarily influenced, the
way they look at the room and the types of photographers and diversified types
of media professionals they invite has definitely changed. Currently their
shows include digital media reporters and bloggers, as well as the typical
media representatives.
According to
Alex, the company is cognizant of the power of social media and is always
looking for intelligent ways to tell the world who they are. They believe it is
important to know how other people perceive the brand and they adapt their
message to each different platform.
Oscar de la Renta announced new co-creative directors Laura Kim and Fernando
Garcia. I asked about the direction of the new creators and Alex expressed his
excitement to see them take on this role. He knows them both extremely well and
told me that they had worked closely alongside Oscar for many years. He said
that while he likes to think he is a good business person, they were the
dreamers.
He said that, while he doesn't
know what this transition is going to look like yet, he is very excited to see
how they will interpret Oscar's designs for their younger and more contemporary
customer as well as their core customer. I am very excited to see what they will have in store for their younger customers!
After talking about all the new and exciting changes at the company I asked
Alex if there was anything he felt that Oscar de la Renta had stayed true to
over the years and today. He told me what Oscar himself used to say when asked
about his inspiration for his current collection. Oscar de la Renta said that
his inspiration was always to make women look and feel great with his designs.
According to Alex this is something that the fashion house is sticking by.
Another thing that Alex believes is unique to the company and that they have
stayed true to over the years is the company culture. Alex described that Oscar
de la Renta ran his design studio so that anyone could express their opinion.
According to Alex, while it's not a democracy, at Oscar de la Renta if you want
to be an expert in something you can come to the company and do that with hard
work and dedication. He also said that it is still a family owned business at
its core and that even though not everyone is related many people have spent 30
or more years with the company and many had worked closely with Oscar for that
time. They want to keep that spirit in the company.
Finally I asked Alex about his background in fashion and what his advice
would be to someone looking to get into the industry. He explained that he came
to Oscar de la Renta about 15 years ago from a background in finance.
He transitioned to the company since his wife
Eliza is Oscar's daughter-in-law and has worked at the company for many years.
He said that he believes there is no traditional career path in the fashion
industry. He referenced Oscar de la Renta's background as an architectural
student in Madrid who got into fashion after taking a job sketching to earn
extra money. Oscar then got hired on at the design house as an entry level
worker with a small job. Even though it was a small job Oscar became very good
at it and was able to move up from there. That lesson is something he brought
with him to his own design house and that the company still believes in today.
Alex gave the example of Laura Kim who started out as an intern and quickly
became a resident expert on buttons and trims. While seemingly a small part of
the design process this important piece allowed Laura to work closely with
Oscar and learn about his design process which will be valuable in her new
position. Alex's advice is that if you are passionate about something no
matter how small, you can make yourself indispensable and get noticed.
Oscar de la Renta has continued to honor the great designers legacy at the
company and on the runway and I’m looking forward to seeing what they have in
store for us next season!
She has been working in the fashion industry for over 30 years as a celebrity stylist. She started Fashion Consciousness last year as a magazine that would bring fashion and social issues together. Each issue is centered around a color and theme because Valeria believes that colors have the power to influence our mood and she focuses on the colors that surround us. The upcoming green issue is all about intuition. Valeria also chooses influencers and professionals to feature in each issue that she feels represent the theme. Many of those who had been featured in past issues attended the event and were welcomed on the red carpet. The event was held at the Windows lounge in the four seasons and guests gathered around the red carpet set in front of the entrance before heading inside to the lounge decorated with glossy prints of past issues. Many guests wanted to take pictures in front of this colorful display of green giftbags which were presented to a few highlighted speakers at the end of the night.
