November 10, 2022 | The State of Fashion: A Conversation with Oscar de la Renta's Global CEO Alex Bolen

GRLA was thrilled to host Alex Bolen, Global CEO of Oscar De La Renta, in Georgetown University’s Copley Formal Lounge on November 10th, 2022. Prior to Oscar De La Renta, Bolen had a 14-year career in finance on Wall Street. Bolen shared his invaluable insight into the retail and luxury landscape, discussed his diverse experiences in the professional world, and spoke candidly about how students should best prioritize their time.

Bolen had no experience in the business of fashion before working with Oscar De La Renta. In fact, Bolen was assisting in helping the previous CEO find another buyer for the company. After a couple months of searching, Bolen crafted his own ambitions for the company’s future: expanding it globally. Bolen recognized the potential the company had to successfully expand; the recognition of the brand name was much bigger than the size of the company. As Bolen put it, the ambitious vision he developed as he searched for a new buyer led to him ‘accidentally’ becoming the CEO.

Bolen discussed how changes in the global arena influence the success of a business. For example, the immense impact of COVID-19 and the consequent boom in technological reliance. The pandemic posed serious problems for the company: they lost 95% of revenue during the period of March to May 2020 in comparison to the previous year, employment was reduced from 300 to 27 around the world, and there were moments where the prospect of going out of business was very real. On the bright side, however, Oscar De La Renta’s ecommerce business took off. The company is in a better place now than ever before, with it shifting more of a focus towards social media platforms, such as Instagram.

Bolen discussed the challenge that comes with keeping the fashion house relevant. Oscar De La Renta has been one of the leading bodies in luxury for 58 years, and Bolen emphasized the importance of sustaining a brand’s foundational qualities while also making adjustments to keep up with the fast-paced world we live in. The goal is to sustain relevance whilst still appealing to the target audience.

Bolen offered advice for students looking to work in retail. He emphasized the importance of being inspired by the people you work with, keeping an open mind, and finding summer work experience. Georgetown students were compelled to hear Bolen’s candid discussion of the qualities that fashion employers search for in potential employees.

Event recording.