Pierre Cardin, who died on Tuesday aged 98, was a man of many paradoxes — a designer who sought flamboyant yet simple styles, an aesthete with a head for business, and a futurist now associated with retro.
He rose to the pantheon of France’s post-war fashion giants only to shake it all up by leading what was in the 1950s a revolutionary concept — designing “ready-to-wear” collections for the high street.
A savvy businessman, he expanded his empire globally, moving into once closed markets and selling hundreds of licences to make himself the undisputed king of designer merchandising — and being slammed by the fashion elite for selling out.
Cardin’s 1960s “Space Age” collection is among his most legendary, and his designs such as the men’s collarless “cylinder” suit inspired the early look of the Beatles.
Batwings and knitted catsuits
Cardin entered the Parisian fashion world in the aftermath of World War II, training with the likes of Christian Dior and Elsa Schiaparelli.
In the 1950s, as he began to branch out on his own, he soon established a name as an innovator with the now legendary bubble dress in 1954.
His 1964 “Space Age” collection remains a landmark in the fashion history with its cut-out dresses, knitted catsuits, tight leather pants, close-fitting helmets and batwing jumpers.
Throughout the 1960s, as one of the most influential creative forces, he turned out collection after collection featuring an array of original ideas, and with his penchant for geometric shapes and motifs he frequently ignored the female form altogether.
It was this disregard for femininity which led him to be credited with creating the “unisex” look.
Although he was gay, he had a four-year affair with the French film star Jeanne Moreau. She wanted to have a child with him but could not after suffering from uterine cancer.
Beauty and the Beast
Cardin was born into poverty on July 2, 1922, near Venice in northern Italy. His family emigrated to France when he was a child, and he grew up in the dour French industrial town of Saint Etienne.
—AFP
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