Hillary Clinton made an appearance during the last day of New York Fashion Week today to salute Oscar de la Renta, her late friend and the designer she chose for many important occasions.
The former secretary of state and presidential candidate joined de la Renta’s family, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a ceremony at Grand Central Terminal to commemorate the designer’s new U.S. Postal Service stamp.
“I remember as though it were yesterday, standing in my first receiving line in the White House for the Kennedy Center Honors,” Clinton recalled. “I had bought this dress off the rack and Oscar and Annette were among the guests. And so Oscar goes through the receiving line and as I shake his hand and I’m welcoming him to the White House, he said, ‘That’s my dress.’
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The two quickly formed a deep friendship, and Clinton has turned to the designer for inaugural balls and other important festivities over the years.
In her speech today, Clinton made a noteworthy statement about immigrants. De la Renta, who was born in the Dominican Republic, was for many the definition of the American dream.
“Oscar de la Renta was an immigrant … and aren’t we proud and grateful that he was,” she said, noting that the corner of the new stamps read “USA Forever.” She added, “What a fitting person to be chosen by our Postal Service. And its choice of this immigrant who did so much for our country, his country, truly is what it means when we say ‘USA Forever’ — who we are, what we stand for — and let there be many, many more immigrants with the love of America that Oscar de la Renta exemplified every single day.”
