SMART THINKING
At the age of 98, designer Pierre Cardin is the subject of a new documentary about his life and work.
Pierre Cardin is the subject of a new documentary about his life and work.
In the new film, House of Cardin, haute couture legend Pierre Cardin is portrayed as a beguiling workaholic who, even at his advanced age, is still busy planning new works and projects. Variously described by friends and colleagues as a “control freak”, a “genius” and an “enigma”, at 98, Cardin still goes to work every day, impeccably besuited, of course.
As a boy, he loved nothing better than to make dolls’ clothes. As a young man, he gained work with Christian Dior, who helped him launch his own maison. Cardin’s first collection, in 1953, featured the iconic ‘Bubble Dress’, which was to make his name. Rejecting the more constrained, restrictive fashions he saw around him, Cardin designed avant-garde, futuristic ensembles that included goggles, helmets and short tunics. Jean Paul Gaultier, who came to work for Cardin as a teenager, described it as “like a fairytale, with Cardin waving a magic wand. Thanks to him, I learned that everything is possible.”
As his success as a designer grew, Cardin turned to designing furniture, eyewear, fragrances, cars … even a plane. He explored hitherto unknown markets such as Russia, China and Japan, and employed Black and Asian models when runways were mostly still all-white. Today, when asked what his motivation is, he answers: “It’s a joy for me to work ... to focus on an idea, an object, a shape, a material, a colour... Work for me is a liberation.”
• House of Cardin opens in cinemas nationally from 23 July, 2020.