Pierre Cardin, who died Tuesday aged 98, was a man of many paradoxes — a designer who sought flamboyant yet simple styles, an aesthete with a …
Pierre Cardin, who died 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.
