A Tribute To Pierre Cardin

I couldn’t let January slip by without writing a short tribute to the late Pierre Cardin who died last month aged 93. 

Cardin was incredibly influential in the Fashion Industry at the time, and has also been instrumental in shaping it into what it is today. His bold, striking designs broke the mold, and indeed the rules at the time, and his business nous propelled his brand into the household name that we are all familiar with today.

When us hear the words Pierre Cardin, most of us think of the ubiquitous perfume and watches of the 80’s and 90’s, but Cardin’s extraordinary impression on the fashion world most definitely began with his skill as a gifted designer.

Born Pietro Constante Cardin, the designer was born in Northern Italy, but his family quickly escaped to France during the onset of WW2. At the beginning of his career, Cardin spent 4 years training at the Salon of Christian Dior, who quickly spotted his talents and became a friend and mentor to the young designer. Cardin assisted Dior in the creation of his famous ‘New Look’ which celebrated the womanly hourglass figure and was designed to follow the curves of the female form.

When Cardin left Dior to set up on his own, he took the first of many career risks and completely disregarded Dior’s bias for femininity, and instead created a stir with his outlandish, silhouettes that quickly got him noticed in the Haute Couture scene. Cardin was greatly influenced by space travel and this was reflected in his creations. The designer experimented with bold colour, metallic finishes, futuristic cut outs, thigh high boots, triangular capes and striking headgear. His designs were in complete contrast to the rest of Paris around him and making waves at the time, are still very much referenced on the runways today.

Cardin dragged fashion kicking and screaming into the swinging sixties, carving out an avant-garde path that would be followed by the likes of Mary Quant. Pucci and Barbara Hulanicki of Biba. He became the go-to designer for daring and drama, and dressed everybody who was somebody, from Barbara Streisand to Jackie Kennedy, from Bianca Jagger to the Rolling Stones.

Some of his more notable creations were the bubble dress, launched in 1954 which got its name from the bubble-like skirt hanging from a nipped-in waist which reached worldwide success and is still a popular style today. There was also the egg-carton dress and the now famous matching collarless grey suits photographed on a very early Beatles.

Not satisfied at being at the epicentre of society and show business, Cardin felt that designer fashion should be more readily available to the general public and controversially released the first ever Ready to Wear collection in collaboration with the Partsian Department Store Printemps in 1959. This was another career-risk for Cardin, and indeed it resulted in him being expelled from the Chamber Syndicale (The Guild of Haute Couture).  Despite the unpopularity of this decision, it was against the rules for An Haute Couture designer too show outside their Salon, let alone in a Department Store - we can thank Cardin for being the first designer to bring well-cut clothing to the masses, effectively democratising fashion.

Buoyed by his own success and used to not only being controversial but downright unpopular with his peers in Paris, Cardin also went on to achieve numerous other landmark firsts. This includes releasing the first Unisex collection, being the first designer to make inroads into China, where he developed a long and profitable bond and holding a fashion show in Moscow’s Red Square.

But perhaps what Cardin will be most remembered for by the general public is his impressive - some would say relentless - branding and licensing agreements. Cardin recognised the incredible marketing potential possessed by a luxury fashion house and soon his name could be found on everything from food to frying pans, Boxer shorts to Cigarette cases. He even had his own theatre ‘Espace Cardin’ and designed the inside and outside of a plane for french airline UTA in 1968 complete with stewardess uniforms! Cardin’s aptitude for commerce was typically met with both admiration and scorn from his peers as critics would suggest that he diluted the exclusivity of the brand by selling out to mass production. Whether you agree or disagree, I’m not sure Cardin who was very used to being criticised, would particularly care! In terms of brand recognition, he certainly became a household name, and it’s thanks to Cardin that we see the prevalence of designer concessions in department stores like Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, and products like Gucci Sunglasses, Bulgari Hotels and Armani Chocolates today.

Cardin encountered many a snobbish attitude throughout his career, whether it was defying the celebrated new look in favour of his modern shapes, his ready to wear collections or later his branding, and it’s because of this last factor that it’s easy to dismiss the designer and just writing him off as purveyor of some average but common perfume. However when you consider his fascinating career, we can see that Pierre Cardin was a visionary, a risk-taker and a pioneer, and the industry owes him so much today.