Balmain (fashion house) Pierre took over until 1992 working as director of ready-to-wear and haute couture. Possibly the most influential designer to take over at Balmain was Oscar de la Renta, who led the house between 1993 and 2002. Already a fashion veteran before joining Balmain, De la Renta brought a famous face to the brand Balmain. He lived in New York City most of his life, although he was born in the Dominican Republic and became a naturalized United States citizen in 1971. He fit into the Balmain design aesthetic, with an eye for detail and classic silhouettes. He, like Balmain, preferred
Oscar Bardi de Fourtou vols., 1859); "La Question italienne" (1860); "De la centre-revolution" (1876); and "Mémoires d'un royaliste" (2 vols., 1888). Oscar Bardi de Fourtou Marie, François, Oscar Bardi de Fourtou (3 January 1836, Ribérac – 6 December 1897, Paris) was a French politician. Born into a bourgeois family, he served as Minister of Transport from 7 December 1872 – 18 May 1873. He also served as Minister of Interior and Minister of Public Instruction, in which he "carried out aggressively conservative policies by dismissing certain liberal professors and re-establishing censorship." There he proved a useful adherent to Thiers, who made him minister of