Oscar de la Renta Commandeur. Oscar de la Renta was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1973. The Dominican Republic honored him with the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella and the Order of Christopher Columbus. De la Renta founded the Casa del Niño orphanage in La Romana He contributed extensively in the construction of a much needed school near his home at the "Punta Cana Resort and Club" in Punta Cana. De la Renta held dual citizenship in the Dominican Republic and the United States. He was an Ambassador-at-Large of the Dominican Republic. De la Renta
Oscar de la Renta Madrid. For extra money, he drew clothes for newspapers and fashion houses. After Francesca Lodge, the wife of John Davis Lodge, the U.S. Ambassador to Spain, saw some of his dress sketches, she commissioned de la Renta to design a gown for her daughter. The dress appeared on the cover of "Life" magazine that fall. He quickly became interested in the world of fashion design and began sketching for leading Spanish fashion houses, which soon led to an apprenticeship with Spain's most renowned couturier, Cristóbal Balenciaga. He considered Cristóbal Balenciaga his mentor. In 1961, de la Renta left Spain to