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It was a somber day at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on Park Avenue yesterday, where friends and family of Oscar de la Renta gathered to pay their final respects, WWD reports. The Dominican Republic-born, New York-based designer passed away at the age of 82 on October 20th after a quiet but lengthy battle with cancer.
Political figures from both sides of the aisle—including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Laura Bush and daughters Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, Chelsea Clinton and husband Marc Mezvinsky, and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg were all in attendance. de la Renta also drew big names from the journalism world, including Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter, Elle editor-in-chief Robbie Myers, Barbara Walters, and Diane Sawyer.
As expected, he was also greatly supported by the fashion community: Michael Kors, Vera Wang, Ralph Lauren, Valentino Garavani, Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Diane von Furstenberg, and Tory Burch were among the throngs. The designer's model-of-the-moment, Karlie Kloss, also attended, as did de la Renta's successor, Peter Copping.
"It's a sunny day for Oscar," Bergdorf Goodman's Linda Fargo told the publication. "He was so elegant and set a bar for all of us. He handled his illness with such grace."
"It was a solemn, spiritual service commemorating a man who was so wonderful and giving," Barbara Walters noted afterwards. Added Carolyne Roehm, interior designer and former assistant to de la Renta, "It was exquisitely beautiful and exquisitely sad."
· Oscar de la Renta's Stately Sendoff [WWD]
· Oscar de la Renta Has Passed Away at 82 [Racked]
· Silence, Roses at Oscar de la Renta's Madison Avenue Flagship [Racked NY]