Top 10 Sensational Facts about Pierre Cardin

Photo of Pierre Cardin signing his latest design, an executive jet. No copyright found during early 1980s. Photo by News service- Wikimedia commons

Top 10 Sensational Facts about Pierre Cardin

There are lots and lots of iconic clothing designers who have made their mark in the industry as revolutionary and influential icons. Pierre Cardin is a well-known fashion designer who is still widely respected today. Pierre Cardin is not your average fashion designer; he is credited with bringing avant-garde and Space Age styles in the current period. Cardin is regarded as an innovative fashion designer due to his idiosyncratic creations.

While his designs were distinctive, the Pierre Cardin fashion house that he established in 1950 is widely recognized for providing simple fashion pieces that can be worn with everything and are reasonably priced. Furthermore, Pierre Cardin’s name has showed up not only in clothing designs but also in pens and keyrings in order to increase his visibility.

Furthermore, the company has a broader reach because it is widely accessible through online shops such as ASOS. Here is a portfolio of Pierre Cardin to gain knowledge more about the fashion designer and his fashion label.

1.Pierre’s early days and family background

Pierre Cardin was born in northern Italy in 1922 to rich landowners, with father Alessandro Cardin working as a wine merchant. Four years later, they returned to the small French town of St. Etienne, where Cardin was brought up.

Cardin’s parents, like ours, wanted him to be an architect when he was growing up, just as they wanted us to be doctors or lawyers when we were growing up.

Nevertheless, he realized his curiosity in dressmaking at the tender age of eight after tailoring dresses for his neighbor’s child, and the rest is history.

2.Cardin’s early start in fashion industry

With the war nearly over, Cardin left Manby’s and went to work for the French Red Cross. He arrived in Paris in late 1944 as a result of this job. Cardin lived in Paris, the world’s largest fashion capital, and started working for French fashion designer Paquin. Cardin met numerous French scholars and social leaders while working for Paquin. Cardin started designing and making crazy outfits for theatrical performances and short films using these contacts.

Cardin’s work was featured in French director Jean Cocteau’s 1946 film Beauty and the Beast. Cocteau was a big fan of young Cardin and introduced him to designer Christian Dior. Dior was a well-known fashion designer who was preparing to launch his latest House of Dior collection.

Cardin soon began working for the Dior house, and he was part of the “team of thirteen” that would design so much of Dior’s line over the next few years, becoming synonymous with the post-war “New Look.” Cardin created his well-known and widely broadcasted “Bar” line while working at Dior, which offered tight jackets and long black skirts. He quickly gained the attention of fashion spectators and buyers as Dior’s likely successor.

3.The beginning of his incredible fashion line

1950s to 2000s Pierre Cardin fashions exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum. Photo by Amerune- Wikimedia commons

By 1950, the ‘House of Cardin’ was up and running, with a young Cardin working from an attic shop, creating costumes and suits for clients who took to his well-crafted patterns and helped him rise to the position of top suit designer in Paris. In 1957, the designer broke out of his comfort zone with a ground-breaking fashion collection that established the brand as a fashion-forward, luxe behemoth.

Pierre Cardin, who was entirely compatible with fashion, shook the 1960s with period- defining collections that celebrated the ‘space age’ through bright tunics, vinyl records, sunglasses and geometry-inspired designs. The brand was an immediate success, and this trend continued as more Pierre Cardin Fashion boutiques opened in Paris and all over the planet. Cardin’s brand image truly distinguished the company. This guaranteed that the company would flourish for several years to follow.

4.In the 1970’s Cardin continued to be a trendsetter

Cardin established yet another new trend in the 1970s: “mod chic.” This trend applies to a type or a combination of forms that did not exist at the time. He was the first to pair absurdly short and ankle-length pieces together. He created dresses with slits and batwing sleeves with unusual measurements, as well as gypsy skirts and circular movement with structured tops. These designs enabled him to compare the geometric shapes that fascinated him with both circular and straight lines. Cardin became a trendsetter for launching this famous fashion trend in the early 1970s.

In 1970, Cardin toured NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), where he tried on the original spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon. In 1970, Cardin designed spacesuits for NASA.

Régis Campo, French composer, and Pierre Cardin, Académie des beaux-arts, Institut de France, Paris, 2017.  Régis Campo, French composer, and Pierre Cardin, Académie des beaux-arts, Institut de France, Paris, 2017.  In 1966, Cardin stood down from the Chambre Syndicale and began exhibiting his collections in his own gallery. He also created uniforms for Pakistan International Airlines, which were launched between 1966 and 1971 and were an immediate success.

5.He created outfits for The Beatles and other celebrities

1950s to 2000s Pierre Cardin fashions exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum,. Photo by Amerune- Wikimedia commons

How well-known was Cardin as he seems to know everyone?

Famous enough to be recognized by both The Beatles and the Philippine government. At the height of his suit-making career, Cardin created some of his most legendary suits, which featured collarless jackets and no lapels as a way for young men to express their individual identity.

The Beatles were drawn to this and donned the suits after recognizing Cardin’s ability to look “one step ahead of tomorrow.”

In 1971, he also remodelled the traditional Philippine Barong Tagalog costume.

6.Cardin started receiving multiple awards

Cardin celebrated his 30th anniversary in the industry at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New New York City in 1980, and he lunched a new office building in New York City to handle his expanding American operations. Cardin received the Fashion Oscar in 1985 at the Paris Opera and was eventually named a Commander of the Order of Merit by the President of France.

The Italian Republic granted him the Grand Order of Merit in 1988, and France promoted him to Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1991. In 1991, he was also promoted to officer in the Legion of Honor in France and received the Gold and Silver Star of the Japanese Sacred Treasure, that country’s highest honor. Cardin was elected to the French Academy of Fine Arts as the country’s highest-ranking fashion designer in 1992.

7.His designs continued to elevate to creating legendary eyewear

1950s to 2000s Pierre Cardin fashions exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum,. Photo by Amerune- Wikimedia commons

Cardin’s avant-garde touch reached the eyewear business in the 1970s and 1980s. In reality, it was urgently required. As, prior to Cardin, only black and gold frames were seen, with the most daring being a blend of both colors. The revolutionary Pierre Cardin sunglasses and Pierre Cardin glasses revolutionized the world of eyewear. What shapes and colors were popular in the world of eyewear only had a minor impact on the designer. His designs float above things in totally distinct realms. It’s no surprise that today’s most common PC-branded models are known as Evolution 5 or Evolution 6.

8.The true hero of licensing his own brand

Aside from his natural ability for dressmaking and design, Cardin was largely viewed as a businessman.

Consider it a successful brand such as Starbucks or McDonald’s you see every time you turn a corner.

He was among the first designers to license his fashions with his logos, and he didn’t stop there; the brand name was eventually found on perfume, sunglasses, furniture, and a variety of other products.

It also included the boxer shorts, and he’s stated that if asked to put his name on toilet paper, he’d do it.

Nevertheless, while the move made his name more well-known and brought him more money, it also meant that the brand became more watered down.

And, yes, this explains why most people have used a Pierre Cardin wallet or worn a Pierre Cardin belt at some point in their lives.

9.Sportif grew bigger and sold more products than before

Cardin introduced a fashion show featuring his new Sportif designs to mark the anniversary the XXVI Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. The Sportif clothing line for men and women was a resounding hit, and it generated a Sportif fragrance line for men. Later that year, Cardin hosted a Les Dieux de Olympe exhibition by painter Daniel You.

Cardin continued to reside and work in Paris, creating and developing his numerous clothing, footwear, perfume and hat lines.

10.He eventually passed away at the age of 98

Cardin passed away on December 29, 2020, at the age of 98, at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine. There was no mention of a cause of death, it is assumed he died of old age.