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An old-school creator, but also a capable businessman who recognized the opportunities and possibilities early on to expand his brand in all directions: Pierre Cardin died at the age of 98.
“I am still the only innovator in the world,” Pierre Cardin boldly confided in 2007 to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Not only that, he was a star gazer, dreamed of walking on the moon, and designed spacesuits for earthlings. In addition to the creator and inventor of futurism in fashion, there was also the skilled entrepreneur Cardin, who developed ready-to-wear, ready-to-wear fashion, alongside haute couture, that only a small group of wealthy clients could afford. And Pierre Cardin was also a pioneer in diversification, his brand represented a lot.
A lifestyle that should work in everything is an old dream of many artists, some of the pioneers of this concept come from Vienna, Adolf Loos for example. But great design is not always lucrative, many creative people fail because they cannot produce large quantities and choose materials that are too expensive for a realistic price. France’s fashion houses took the middle ground, but some of them went under. Cardin held on.
The man came from a primordial cell of the Italian economy, wine, which is also part of the lifestyle. Cardin was the youngest of seven children of a wine merchant. He was born near Treviso. In 1944 he emigrated to France.
Use simple elegance
What did you find there? Big changes. Coco Chanel had already begun to take the fashion off the pedestal before World War I: women were no longer laced up in corsets, wrapped in long skirts, their faces hidden under luxuriously decorated hats. The clothes had to be simple, smooth and elegant. Generations of fashion designers were quick to adopt noble austerity.
Pierre Cardin began as a cartoonist with Jeanne Paquin, who was still oriented towards the 19th century, the fin de siècle and the 1920s. He soon switched to Elsa Schiaparelli and in 1946 he designed the costumes for Jean Cocteau’s film “La Belle et la Bête “, better known as” Beauty and the Beast “.
Cardin hired Christian Dior in 1947. There she developed a classic that is almost as timeless as Coco Chanel’s “Little Black”: wide, flared skirts with deep cuts, jackets with narrow shoulders, fitted waists. A forerunner of petticoats waved from the catwalks. But the business suit was also born, feminine and strict.
Cardin founded his own fashion house in 1950, his creations should be suitable for everyday wear, but at the same time elegant. There are loose clothes, pants, jeans. His men’s suits became particularly famous. Cardin designed wristwatches, table linens, bed and bath linens, tableware, silverware, record players, and even cars: Cardin’s name adorned a pink sports coupe, the AMC Javelin model, and the 1976 space Sbarro Stash, and Cadillac soon joined. to Cardin. The best way to travel in this car was to wear Cardin glasses and write love letters with the Cardin fountain pen.
Beginning in the 1970s, you could also buy bentwood furniture with geometric designs and varnished colors from Cardin. The famous designer Philippe Starck was one of his employees. Anyone who looks at the work of Cardin, who was often not dressed as a colorful bird, but rather as a good office worker, must not forget the explosion of consumer goods after two world wars in Europe, everyone wanted everything, and suddenly it was there too! Furthermore, the 1968 revolution and the hippie era played a role in the upheaval of society as a whole. Chauvinist France has long used the trends of the United States, all of Europe followed suit. Waste and joie de vivre were popular. But appearance also had to “look good”, as they said at the time.
However, Cardin’s drive to expand has not only made friends; gave his name to things that were too cheap, they said. He made contacts in China as early as the 1970s, but to get orders for uniforms. Cardin was certainly not the only genius in any field, neither in fashion nor in the fashion business. (Chains like Zara today use their extensive product concept). But Cardin was a visionary in implementing the idea that a person’s appearance has many facets, which has obviously become very important today.
(“Die Presse”, print edition, December 30, 2020)
