Legendary Pierre Cardin, French fashion designer, dies at 98
Islam News – Iconic French designer, Pierre Cardin, has passed away at the age of 98, France’s Fine Arts Academy announced on Tuesday in a statement on Twitter, as CNN reported.
“The Perpetual Secretary, Laurent Petitgirard, and the members of the Academy of Fine Arts are deeply saddened to announce the death of their colleague Pierre Cardin. He had been elected on 12 February 1992 to the chair of Pierre Dux,” the Fine Arts Academy said.
Cardin was among the first designers to capitalize on the business side of fashion, becoming a household name thanks to powerful branding.
He also broke with tradition through his futuristic designs — and by producing landmark unisex and ready-to-wear collections at a time when both were effectively unheard of.
Cardin was born in 1922 in San Biagio di Callalta, a small town in northeast Italy about 20 miles from Venice. He was born Pietro, but he became known as Pierre after his family relocated to France to escape fascism two years later.
As a young man, his first steps into fashion coincided with a move to Paris, where he worked on the costumes of Jean Cocteau’s film version of “Beauty and the Beast.” In 1946, he was hired as a tailor by his subsequent mentor, Christian Dior, who had just opened his couture house in Paris.
Four years later, at the age of 28, Cardin founded his own eponymous fashion brand, first designing theater costumes, then moving into haute couture in 1953.
Both of Cardin’s home countries offered him recognition: In 1987, Italy named him a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, while in 1991, France made him an Officer of the Legion of Honour. The same year, UNESCO made the designer a goodwill ambassador.
