The man who has dressed many first ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy, Laura Bush to Hillary Clinton has now featured in his first posthumous show that opened on Feb. 5, according to Vogue. Oscar de la Renta also had clients like Nicole Kidman, Taylor Swift, Sarah Jessica Parker, Oprah Winfrey and Lauren Santo Domingo to his credit. Most of the exhibits include Met Gala dresses of these famous women. The show has put on display dresses from the personal collection of his wife and muse, Annette de la Renta, that has a striped pyjama, but there are no trousers.

The exhibition titled:“Oscar de la Renta: His Legendary World of Style,” curated by none other than the designer’s close friend, Andre Leon Talley, would continue up to May 3 at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia. The exhibition showcases his dresses or gowns, which can be worn both during the day and the night. The showcase is Talley’s way of paying tribute to his friend. He shuffled through the wardrobes of Renta’s famous clients and put together the show, selecting every piece through his own memory. “I was literally inside their closets,” he said.

When de la Renta died in October, last year, Talley wanted to pay tribute to the former and began planning to put the show together. He went to the loyal de la Renta fan, Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass, who gave five trunks full of the designer’s clothes that she possessed. Another client, Catie Marron laid down her entire de la Renta collection on her bed for Talley. Apart from them, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush also contributed their dresses for the show.

Talking about a particular golden dress that was worn by both Nicole Kidman and Diana Taylor, Michael Bloomberg’s partner, he said that it looked beautiful on each of them. “Even though they are a generation apart, these clothes say to me, Oscar can dress everyone from a young girl to a grand lady,” Talley said. Apart from gowns, there is a special space featuring wedding gowns. A gown on display belongs to Eliza Bolen, the designer’s step daughter. She had worn it along with a veil for her wedding in June 1998.

The show which spans three rooms, set in vignettes has another remarkable display; the dress belonging to Elizabeth Cordry, which took 1,350 hours to create and has three layers of French laces. There is also a gown belonging to Miranda Brooks inspired by Sofia Copolla’s "Marie Antoinette" but it was accessorised with a Spanish equestrian hat. “Oscar came from the couture world, so you are going to get the bow, the train! He always wanted the appropriate look, a sense of the occasion,” Talley said. He also told that it is not only ladies belonging to the upper echelons who were his clients.

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