ICONS OF FRANCE ❘ PIERRE CARDIN


“FOR PIERRE, FASHION WAS AN ART FORM THAT COULD CAPTURE THE SOUL OF A CIVILISATION”


time as his parents and his brother César, on December 25, 1936. It was a major turning point in his life.


CONSTRUCTIONS AND CUTS, FIRST COLLECTIONS For his first collection, Pierre presented 50 looks and was bent on making a splash. Above all, he was drawn to one particular fabric – perhaps the lingering memory of the small white coat from his childhood? The fabric was called ‘Montagnac’ and the designer wanted to use it to make a coat – a pleated one! He contacted an artisan who declared the idea impossible but the designer insisted, many tests were run, and lo and behold, it worked! Thanks to an excellent sales network and the tailor Oppenheimer, Pierre Cardin would sell no fewer than 200,000 of these innovative coats in the United States. It helped establish his name and gain traction. At that time, America was the market leader in fashion, the one that


called the shots and established the mood. In short, the ultimate trend- setter. Here again, Pierre’s people skills and savoir-faire for public relations worked wonders.


Divas from the press and fashion world such as Carmel Snow (Harper’s Bazaar), Hélène Lazareff (Pierre Lazareff’s wife, founder and director of Elle magazine), and Marie-Louise Bousquet (editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar in Paris) went so far as to venture up to his attic studio to lavish him with praise, joking that they had to take the freight elevator to get up there. In Pierre’s attic, there were no chairs to speak of, much less armchairs. These fancy folks had to settle for a lowly stool. Pierre cleverly turned this to his advantage, providing a welcome contrast to Dior, a house that received guests in ostentatious salons decked out with expensive floral arrangements. He was young and could get away with anything. The women sang the praises


Clockwise from above: Pierre Cardin in his office in 1957; an evening coat in satin-weave silk, 1955; the 1952 red wool pleated coat, which sold in its thousands; a double-breasted suit, 1953; model Marie-Thérèse in wool gabardine from Cardin’s first haute couture collection, Spring-Summer 1953


of this incredibly gifted and handsome man; they wore his name with pride, sealing his reputation. From then on, Pierre knew how much he owed them – especially Hélène Lazareff who, completely won over by the designer, was his most loyal supporter. (At that time, all the great couturiers and designers were markedly older than Pierre – with one exception: Hubert de Givenchy, five years his junior.) The media was abuzz. Thanks to his pleated coat, Pierre was the talk of the town. A bit surprised by this sudden rise to the top, he tried to stay true to himself and let his personality shine


100 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Feb/Mar 2023


IMAGES © ARCHIVES ROLAND DE VASSAL, MATTIA AQUILA, PHILIPPE POTTIER, RUE DES ARCHIVES, NORMAN PARKINSON/ICONIC IMAGES, FLAMMARION


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