Hillary Clinton pays tribute to the memory of 'immigrant' Oscar de la Renta

Speaking on Thursday in New York, Hillary Clinton paid tribute to her friend, couturier Oscar de la Renta. The designer, born in the Dominican Republic, was an 'immigrant', said Clinton. He is now featured on a series of US Mail stamps.

"Oscar de la Renta was an immigrant. We are proud and happy about this fact," said the former US presidential candidate, speaking in the prestigious Vanderbilt Hall, a splendid reception room in New York's Grand Central Station. It was a clear reference to the protectionist policies of President Donald Trump, whose recent anti-immigration decree was blocked by the US judiciary.

The former Secretary of State congratulated the US Postal Service on issuing on Thursday a series of eleven stamps paying tribute to Oscar de la Renta, "an immigrant who did so much for our country, his own country."

Oscar de la Renta was born in the Dominican Republic and settled in the USA in 1963. Two years later he launched his own label, which became a benchmark in luxury ready-to-wear fashion. He died at 82 in October 2014, still at the helm of his fashion label and in charge of its collections.

Hillary Clinton befriended de la Renta during her time as First Lady, and on Thursday she told several anecdotes about him. "[I wish] there will be many more immigrants whose love for the USA will be inspired by what Oscar de la Renta represented," concluded Clinton to warm applause, in the presence of designer Ralph Lauren and Anna Wintour, Editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine.

The former Mayor of New York, Mike Bloomberg, also present, mentioned Oscar de la Renta as an example of "the extraordinary contribution immigrants make to our city and our country every day."