Oscar de la Renta to Open Unit at NorthPark

Oscar de la Renta is moving into the Lone Star State, upping his number of freestanding stores to five.

Construction is under way for a freestanding Oscar de la Renta boutique in Dallas’ prestigious NorthPark Center. The company aims to open the 3,150-square-foot store in early December, in time for the increasingly important resort season. Dallas is a key market for resort, and the designer always has had a strong business there, according to Alex Bolen, de la Renta’s president and chief executive officer.

Modeled after the interior of the designer’s Madison Avenue flagship, the Dallas store will have Dominican coral stone accents and high-gloss white wood. The store will house de la Renta’s entire ready-to-wear collection, a full range of shoes, handbags and jewelry, as well as some select items available only at Oscar de la Renta freestanding stores. For resort, embroidered linen dresses, chiffon printed dresses and a chiffon embroidered caftan with coordinating bathing suits will be the exclusive pieces. The store also will have a designated area for eveningwear and its signature footwear display, called the “shoe catwalk.”

Bolen and de la Renta met developer Ray Nasher at a dinner they hosted at the Nasher Sculpture Garden in downtown Dallas about 18 months ago. Both New Yorkers were impressed by the monumental art and beautiful building created by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, Bolen said. Afterward, Nasher and de la Renta struck up a friendly correspondence. Before too long, Bolen visited NorthPark Center and was taken by the midcentury modernist structure adorned with the work of marquee-name artists such as Richard Serra and Mark di Suvero. Earlier this year, Bolen and de la Renta decided to line up a space there.

NorthPark’s collection of retailers is increasing, and the center expects to have more than 235 stores and restaurants with more than $1 billion in annual sales by 2008.

Nasher’s daughter, Nancy, and her husband, David Haemisegger, now own and manage NorthPark Center, the largest shopping center in north Texas and one that is known for its luxury tenants. She said that de la Renta’s “style and grace are truly represented in the distinctive, elegant design of the store and in his exquisite women’s ready-to-wear collection and accessories.”