Pierre Cardin dies – leaves behind an entire fashion empire – culture

Pioneer in the world of fashion and astute businessman: French Pierre Cardin died at the age of 98.

Pierre Cardin was a pioneer from start to finish. As early as the 1960s, he was sending his mannequins down the catwalk in helmets and astronaut suits. Futuristic fashion was born. “For me, fashion means tomorrow, never yesterday,” visionary Cardin once said in an interview.

It also left France long before other fashion companies opened new markets. In 1979 Cardin displayed his collection in Communist China, when it was still largely isolated from the outside world. His fashion show in Moscow’s Red Square, just two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, drew thousands of spectators.

With almost 30 on top

Pierre Cardin was born in Italy in 1922 to French parents. After World War II he went to Paris and started working as a fashion illustrator. Cardin made theatrical masks and costumes for the movie “Beauty and the Beast.”

He then worked for the then unknown Christian Dior. But the ambitious Cardin wanted to pursue his own ideas: When he was under 30 years old, he founded his own couture company.

Legend:

Cardin became one of the richest men in France with his designs.

EPA / YOAN VALAT

Fashion millionaire empire

In a career spanning more than 70 years, Cardin has earned the admiration and ridicule of other designers, in large part due to her keen business acumen. Pierre Cardin has marketed his name as a license around the world like no other.

So it was not a shame to give his name to countless products such as furniture, mineral water, boxers and razors. He realized that the glamor of a fashion brand has infinite marketing potential.

Legend:

Cardin’s most successful creations included geometric cut mini dresses and vinyl striped skirts.

EPA / YURI KOCHETKOV

Cardin seemed largely unimpressed by the criticism from his colleagues. So he repeatedly threw the rigid conventions of his industry overboard: Cardin was the first designer to sell clothing collections in department stores and design fashion for the masses in the late 1950s.

Pierre Cardin worked on his own designs into old age, took young designers under his wing, and attended parties and fashion shows. Now the designer has passed away at the age of 98.