With his beauty license firmly under his own control, fashion designer Oscar de la Renta is said to be in talks with a private equity investor to develop his own beauty brand as part of a new company called Oscar de la Renta Beauty.

Late last year, de la Renta got back his beauty license from L’Oréal as a result of arbitration stemming from an 18-month legal dispute that involved the license holder, YSL Beauté, which was acquired by L’Oréal in 2008, and the distributor Elizabeth Arden Inc.

The designer's beauty roots are deep. Back in 1977, he launched his first fragrance called Oscar, which was developed in partnership with Milton Stern. During the next three-plus decades, the fragrance license changed ownership several times, being acquired in succession by Avon Products Inc., El-Sanofi SA, YSL Beauté and finally L’Oréal. At its peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Oscar and its fragrance offspring generated a combined wholesale volume of $110 million. It currently does an estimated $30 million in wholesale volume, according to industry sources.

Still, according to The NPD Group, the original Oscar fragrance is still in the top 100 of women’s scents in the U.S. In addition, the entire Oscar franchise, which includes 15 fragrances, variations and spin-offs, is selling among the top 50 women’s brands.