This feature appears in V139, Supermodel, Superhero issue, now available for purchase. 

Few designers can claim to have transformed the fashion industry like Pierre Cardin did in the mid-20th century. Armed with a singular, avant-garde vision and an unwavering faith that a fashion label, like brands in other sectors, could be a global business, the Italian-French designer turned his namesake business into one of the industry’s first empires. No design was out of his reach, from the smart and chic, to the extreme and experimental. “[Cardin] had a ferocious appetite for designing and experimenting,” notes long-time collaborator and brand Communications Director Jean-Pascal Hesse. “He loved innovation and modernity, impeccable lines, [and] combining inventiveness and a sense of detail.”

Throughout his decade-spanning career, Cardin proved he was as comfortable crafting a fuchsia dress with heat-molded pyramid detailing for Golden Age starlet Lauren Bacall as he was sewing a scarlet day suit for First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Similarly, no location was out of bounds for the jet-setting Cardin, who grew up in France but voyaged to China, Japan, and his native Italy. At a time when a brand’s reach was often limited to its country of origin, Cardin proved borders could be redefined by one’s ambitions. His namesake brand not only reached international markets—thanks to Cardin’s early recognition of the potential for prêt-à-porter, or ready-to-wear, collections as an alternative to the more exclusive, inaccessible garments found in couture—but its designs also carried diverse inspirations from around the globe. A Cardin piece like his inspired take on the Philippines’ national costume, the barong, demonstrates his appreciation for the artistry and tradition that make each culture’s fashion a unique part of a stunning global tapestry.

Before he was a household name associated with the modernization of fashion as we know it, Cardin was a fledgling designer hungry to hone his craft. He got a covetable education upon moving to Paris in 1945, landing a job alongside Elsa Schiaparelli and, later, working his way to the top at Christian Dior. But Cardin couldn’t fully realize his futuristic fashion dreams under the name of another. Thus, smack in the middle of the 20th century, he debuted Pierre Cardin, the fashion house that would become synonymous with the Space Age—thanks to his landmark Cosmocorps collection. Reflecting his acute foresight, the 1964 collection was an astonishing exercise in  gender-fluid fashion well before it had become commonplace. It captured the frenzied imagination at the heart of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union, imagining how our wardrobes would advance alongside the advent of interstellar travel.

Eventually, Cardin lent his name to a bevy of other licensed products, including pens, fragrances, and cigarettes—but his innovative turn in the world of fashion continues to prove the most lasting part of his legacy. After Cardin’s sudden passing in 2020, Hesse was inspired to revisit the designer’s early life and career. The culmination of this effort is Pierre Cardin: Making Fashion Modern, an insightful collection of previously unseen photographs and first-hand perspectives on the iconic talent. From his continent-spanning adventures and glimpses at his tutelage with Dior to cataloging his menagerie of muses throughout the years, the book offers an intimate look at the man often overshadowed by his eponymous creation—a bold, unconventional soul who made fashion for the future and dared the rest of the world to catch up.

Pierre Cardin: Making Fashion Modern by Jean-Pascal Hesse and Pierre Pelegry is available November 22, 2022 via Flammarion.

This feature appears in V139, Supermodel, Superhero issue, now available for purchase.