Buzzing Pierre Cardin

“Pierre Cardin”

Pierre Cardin came from obscurity but very quickly became one of the top fashion designers in the world and was the trailblazer for the soft and floppy fashion look of the 1950s and 1960s.

The following biography contains information on Fashion Designer Pierre Cardin.

Pierre Cardin was born at his parents vacation home at San Andrea da Barbara near Venice, Italy on July 7, 1922.

In 1926, his parents moved back to their native France where Cardin grew up in the industrial town of St. Etienne in the Department of Loire in southeast France.

At 17, Cardin moved to Paris, the fashion capital of the world, and began working for French fashion designer Paquin.

He founded his own house in 1950 and began with haute couture in 1953.

Cardin was the first couturier to turn to Japan as a high fashion market when he travelled there in 1959.

Also in 1959, he was expelled from the Chambre Syndicale for launching a ready-to-wear collection for the Printemps department store as the first couturier in Paris, but was soon reinstated.

He resigned from the Chambre Syndicale in 1966 to start his own showcase for his collections in his own venue, the Espace Cardin in Paris, formerly the Théâtre des Ambassadeurs, near the American Embassy.

He developed the first line of clothes for men by a courtier and continually changed and expanded the world of fashion with his creations over the years.

His fellow designer, Andre Oliver, who joined him in 1971 and assumed responsibility for the haute couture collections in 1987, died in 1993.