Haute couture is in mourning: Pierre Cardin, flagship couturier of the 1960s and creator of a fashion empire, passed away at the age of 98, his family announced at noon.
“Day of great sadness for our whole family, Pierre Cardin is no more.
The great couturier that he was, has survived the century, leaving France and the world with a unique artistic heritage in fashion, but not only, ”she wrote.
Born in Italy, near Venice, he made his ranges at Christian Dior before founding his own house in the early 1950s. Accessible ready-to-wear, futuristic accessories, revolutionary masculine lines, daring theatrical costumes… Throughout his career, Pierre Cardin has enjoyed dynamiting the codes of fashion.
The first couturier to be elected a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1992, he had drawn his academician's sword himself.
He leaves behind franchises in more than 100 countries and a fortune estimated at several hundred million euros.
Take a look back at the life of a fashion icon.
1. After having cut his teeth at Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin founded his own fashion house in the early 1950s.
AFP
2. His creative audacity seduces the most advanced stars.
Here, alongside actress Catherine Deneuve.
MICHEL CLEMENT / AFP
3. Jeanne Moreau, the great love of her life.
The actress and the fashion designer lived in a four-year relationship in the 1960s.
AFP
4. Visionary creations and shows.
In 1976, journalists and photographers flocked to his parade.
AFP
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5. With Paco Rabanne (right), he is considered the inventor of futuristic fashion in the 1960s. Here, in 2001, with Jean-Paul Gaultier and Sonia Rykiel.
JEAN-LOUP GAUTREAU / AFP
6. Pierre Cardin becomes, in 1992, the first couturier to be elected member of the Academy of Fine Arts.
He drew his academician's sword himself.
Here, in 2003, in his green suit.
Gabriel BOUYS / AFP
7. A stylist appreciated by the stars.
Here, Pierre Cardin poses alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.
FRANÇOIS LO PRESTI / AFP
8. Stunning staging.
Here, the designer shows his models in the desert of Mingsha, China, in 2008.
Peter PARKS / AFP
9. The couturier's creations have conquered Asia.
Here in Beijing, in 2012.
MARK RALSTON / AFP
10. A wise businessman, Pierre Cardin was also the owner of the legendary Parisian restaurant Maxim's.
Frédéric DUGIT / The Parisian
11. Pierre Cardin had become, in 2009, goodwill ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP
12. Opened in 2006 in Saint-Ouen, the Pierre-Cardin museum, named “Past-Present-Futur”, has been located in the Marais since 2014.
Charles Platiau / Reuters
13. In 2018, the designer transformed the Great Wall of China into a phenomenal parade podium.
Fred DUFOUR / AFP
14. The Pierre Cardin brand is now present in the form of a franchise in more than 100 countries.
Here, the couturier poses in 2019 in one of his Parisian boutiques.
BERTRAND GUAY / AFP
15. In September 2020, a retrospective will be devoted to the 70 years of the couturier's career, at the Théâtre du Châtelet.
Lucas BARIOULET / AFP