He has dressed all the First Ladies since Jackie O (except Michelle Obama, thus far) making him be at the forefront of fashion for more than half a century. Well after he's gone, his name is going to be one that sparks all sorts of conversations.

Anna Wintour telephoned Oscar de la Renta twice during our interview: the two are old friends and, it seems, as thick as thieves. Yet perhaps wisely, America's master of elegance declined to be drawn on whether the editor of US Vogue was, as rumoured, instrumental in his decision to hire Dior's fallen designer John Galliano.

The announcement that Galliano was joining the house, albeit initially only for three weeks, came last Friday. There are plenty who consider it a little soon for the disgraced designer to be publicly resurrected (see panel below). But de la Renta doesn't give a hoot what the plenty think. Read More