Sarah Jessica Parker Speaks Out on the Passing of Oscar de la Renta

"I don't remember exactly the first time I met Mr. de la Renta. But I do remember the first dress I borrowed from him: from spring 2000, it was look 67. I had been asked to do an event for Sex and the City — something for HBO and [then CEO] Mr. Bewkes. I remember seeing this dress in the collection and went through Pat Field, the costume designer on the show, to see if she could help me borrow it."

"I remember the first time I was invited to Mr. de la Renta's office and asked if he might build a dress for me for the 2000 Emmys. It turned out to be a pink dress with a feathered skirt that people had a lot of opinions about — mostly because I tied a big piece of tulle on my arm."

"With the amazing Met Ball gown this year, I was involved in every step. Initially, when Anna Wintour asked if I might co-chair the evening — which would honor the work of the late couturier Charles James — with Anna and Mr. de la Renta also as co-chairs, I immediately thought that I wanted to ask him to make me a dress. I always have a little hesitation about asking somebody that. It's a huge amount of effort, time, talent and money, so I put off asking for a while. But I was sitting with Anna one day and she said, 'Ask Oscar, of course ask him!' So I rang him that day and said, 'Would you consider building something for me for the Met Ball?'"

"I told the team about colors I wanted to work with and said, 'What I would really love to do is have his well-known signature in embroidery on the back of the dress in scarlet.' They love him so much there, they got really, really excited about that. I was nervous to ask him — I expected that he might be modest and say no, no, no. But he thought about it and said yes the next day.

"We had three different sizes of the signature made; I picked the color I thought was right, and he and I agreed on the size. I promised him, if the concept was misunderstood, I wanted everyone to know this was my choice. It was something he never would have done — with his modesty, grace and elegance. But I knew the crimson signature would look magnificent on the red carpet. Then Mr. de la Renta added the black lattice work up the back of the gown — an homage to Charles James — and I said, 'Oh my God, of course!' It was so Oscar de la Renta!"

"When someone passes who's led a wonderfully long life, you hear the news and immediately think of his beloved wife and friends and, in this case, all those who work in his studio. The reality of his absence means a momentous shift. There are wonderfully talented designers, emerging and upperclassmen, but he really was singular, and he has left a vacuum. Others will come along and will eventually make ball gowns with pockets in them — with stripes and polka dots, garden party gowns. But nobody is meant to fill the void. They can't. All I can think today is, 'That's it. That's done, that extraordinary moment in time that he created.' When I think about the last 10 or 15 years and the way he figured out how to marry his rock-hard foundation of the world of socialites and Nancy Reagans with a different generation — it's wildly impressive.

"It also needs to be said that there was no one more handsome."