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It’s the end of an era at Oscar de la Renta! Co-creative directors Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim are leaving the brand after leading it together since 2017. Garcia broke the news in an Instagram post this afternoon.
“With a heavy heart @tokibunbun and myself want to let the world know we are completing our time at @oscardelarenta next February and after are putting all our focus on @monsemaison ,” Garcia said. “We have spent half of our lives working with the incredible teams there plus the loving de la Renta family. it was a decision that came with much contemplation and while it is sad it is also exciting for all to begin new chapters next year. Laura and myself have nothing but magical memories and incredible gratitude to everyone at the company. Our final collection will be Fall 2026 next February and hope you all love it!”
Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia
Garcia and Kim both came to Oscar just one year after launching their own brand, Monse, known for its deconstructed, contemporary aesthetic. Kim began her career there as an intern in 2003. While at the brand they used their artisanal flair and passion for intricate details to create strikingly glamorous collections embracing formality and de la Renta’s own love of gardens. However, what lies beneath still shone through in eye-catching designs crafted to look like bejeweled corsetry, stained glass, and interior boning. They also brought a distinctly modern feel to de la Renta’s traditional formality, creating new contexts for their designs in short films—including a “Gimme More”-set flick featuring Kathy Hilton!—and casting today’s top models in their campaigns, including Irina Shayk, TK, and TK.
The pair’s impact was so great, in fact, that they won the Creatives of the Year trophy at this year’s Fashion Media Awards for their work in fashion design. “We bonded over loving same thing, and working together over 16 years because we still continue to love same thing—and that’s fashion, making people feel good and fabulous,” Kim said onstage while accepting their honor. “People still feel like we’re still emerging designers, but we’re 40-plus—so, not emerging anymore! This award is surreal, because we still feel like we’re building ourselves every day.”
Garcia echoed the sentiment, saying: “Laura and I didn’t build this company or the Oscar experience amongst just the two of us. A lot of people in the audience have helped us get there. Alex White was the first stylist that we worked with, and she was very inspiring and made me understand what it’s like to dream—but also keep it grounded. Getting this award is just surreal, because what Laura and I have achieved is not just what Laura and I have achieved—it’s a collective effort.”
As February nears, fashion will certainly miss the pair’s Oscar collections—which have been shown everywhere from the New York Botanical Gardens to the New York Public Library. Here’s to you!
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