IN PHOTOS: Oscar de la Renta's creations over the years

NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar de la Renta, who died Monday at 82, shaped American couture half a century ago when it emerged as a serious rival to European fashion designers.

His specialty was evening gowns, and celebrities from Penelope Cruz and Sarah Jessica Parker to former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton wore his creations.

"He was just gracious and elegant and a gentleman. Mr. De la Renta loved women. And you saw it in every design that he did. He honored women's features, he honored our bodies. He wasn't afraid to pull back and let the woman be the star of the look. And I was just lucky to get to wear his designs and get to know him a little bit, just the tiniest bit, as a person," Jennifer Garner said of de la Renta an Elle magazine event in Los Angeles.

"The beauty of those clothes, I think they really define sort of American style. ... It's a feminine but clean, strong line — just beautiful, beautiful dresses," Tina Fey said.

Here's a gallery of some of his designs over the past five decades: