AKIPRESS.COM - Oscar de la Renta, the fashion designer whose red carpet gowns and evening wear made him a favorite with everyone from luminaries of the stage and screen to first ladies, died Monday. He was 82.

De la Renta died at home Monday evening in Connecticut surrounded by family and friends and "more than a few dogs," according to a handwritten statement signed by two of his company's executives, Alex Bolen and Eliza Bolen, reports AP.

"While our hearts are broken by the idea of life without Oscar, he is still very much us. Oscar's hard work, his intelligence and his love of life are at the heart of our company," the statement said. "All that we have done, and all that we will do, is informed by his values and his spirit. Through Oscar's example we know the way forward. We will make Oscar very proud of us by continuing in an even stronger way the work that Oscar loved so much."

The Dominican-born de la Renta designed dresses for numerous first ladies, including Jackie Kennedy, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, with the latter two wearing de la Renta gowns to inaugural balls. Most recently, he designed the wedding dress for Amal Alamuddin to wear when she married George Clooney last month.