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Summary
- Iconic French designer Pierre Cardin was known to have commercialised fashion brands.
- The designer is fondly remembered for introducing high-end fashion to the middle class.
- His creative designs and approach were way ahead of the time.
French couturier Pierre Cardin, who was known for his new and surprising designs, passed away at the age of 98 on Tuesday. The designer had become famous for bringing luxury fashion to the masses. He designed avant-garde style clothes and preferred geometric shapes and motifs. His Space Age designs made quite a noise in the Parisian haute couture.
Often ignoring the typical female body form, the Italian-born naturalised French legend advanced into the unisex fashion. Fondly known for his experimental designs, Cardin became one of the first designers who used his own name to grace a wide range of products from couture to cars to perfumes, turning Pierre Cardin into a brand to reckon with.
The female model at the fashion show Pierre Cardin in Moscow Fashion Week “With Love for Russia Fall-Winter 2016/2017”
Image Source: MegapixlTM
Pierre Cardin was not just an innovator but also a visionary who did not follow the conventional luxury fashion industry. Though some of his futuristic designs were impossible to wear, they represented the idea behind the genius he was.
Cardin was also known for introducing progressive suits for the men with newer generations in the 1950s. The style clicked with the young generation who were not wearing the same suits as their fathers. Iconic English rock band The Beatles stated that designer Pierre Cardin was one step ahead of tomorrow. He made many such revolutionary designs for which people remember him fondly.
Pierre Cardin shop in the outlet center at Kiyv, Ukraine,
Image Source: MegapixlTM
Luxury designers and their collections have always been beyond the reach of the masses. The haute couture is exclusive and tailor made. The high-end collections come at jaw-dropping costs and common people can simply not afford it. However, Cardin believed that everyone should be able to afford designer clothes and he did not want fashion to remain a “privilege”. Slowly, he broke the norm and launched a “ready-to-wear” collection from his designs. He brought high-end fashion to the middle classes and sold them in the department stores. This earned Cardin a huge backlash from his peers and also got him thrown out of their elite club.
Pierre Cardin stylist portrait at Lacoste castle, Provence, France,
Image Source: MegapixlTM
He was born in 1922 in a wealthy family in Italy. However, in his early days, his family was forced to escape because of growing fascism. Brought up in France, he started to work as an apprentice at a couturier at the age of 14.
His father wanted Pierre Cardin to learn architecture. However, Pierre Cardin’s interest in dressmaking took him to the world of fashion. He soon learnt the basics of fashion designing and started making suits for women. During World War II, he extended his support to the Red Cross and his humanitarian efforts continued throughout his life.
Cardin shifted to Paris in 1945. In the early days of his career, he worked with some of the famous designers such as Jeanne Paquin and Christian Dior. Soon, he launched his own designer house which is still a famous label in the international fashion arena.
Known as the ‘Father of Fashion Branding’, he made the industry realise that the fashion brand’s glamour had a potential for more. He introduced merchandising, and once jokingly joked that he wouldn't even mind his initials printed on the toilet paper roll.
In his career span of more than 60 years, he dressed up many celebrities and supermodels.
