Shakeup in New York: Kim and Garcia Exit Oscar de la Renta, Key Role Opens

The season of creative overturns adds a new chapter in New York. Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia are leaving the creative direction of Oscar de la Renta after nine years at the helm of the house. The duo will now focus all their efforts on Monse, the brand they founded in 2015.

The departure comes in a year marked by debuts and movements in large houses, with the attention of the sector on how the talent board is reconfigured. In the New York ecosystem, where large vacancies are less frequent than in Europe, Oscar de la Renta’s gap takes on special relevance.

“Laura and I would like to inform the world that our time at Oscar de la Renta will come to an end next February and that we will be fully focused on Monse,“ announced creative Fernando Garcia through his Instagram profile, confirming that the last collection they will design for the house will be the one corresponding to the fall 2026 season.

Appointed in 2016, two years after the death of the founder and replacing Peter Copping, Kim and Garcia then returned to the house where they had taken their first steps before launching Monse and making a brief stint at Carolina Herrera. During their time there, they reinterpreted the brand’s archive and consolidated the gala and red carpet language.

Oscar de la Renta will present the last collection of its designers in February 2026

The company, led by CEO Alex Bolen for two decades, has prioritized in recent years presentations and actions outside the official calendar. From 2022, it will not show at New York fashion week. The decision has strengthened other marketing levers and relationships with high-end clients.

Following his departure, the board will activate a search for a replacement with the challenge of preserving the DNA of American high fashion and, at the same time, bring commercial momentum to strategic lines such as bridal and eveningwear.

The move follows Monse’s 10th anniversary, celebrated with a runway show in New York on September 14, where the brand expanded its offerings into leather and workwear pieces. The duo’s focus now shifts entirely to their own label.

Founded in New York in 1965, Oscar de la Renta built its identity by converging European design refinement with American versatility. Expansion began with the Oscar fragrance in 1977, and continued with home accessories and the O Oscar line to broaden the customer base, beginning in 2001.

The house became a red carpet reference and elevated the public image of first ladies such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush. Its founder, Oscar de la Renta, a Dominican and the first Latino to head a French maison, Balmain, was trained with Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo and learned his trade in the ranks of Lanvin.