Pierre Cardin, The Visionary

When luxury eyewear brand Safilo launched Pierre Cardin frames, we were taken back to the stylish universe of the iconic Parisian couturier. We revisit the philosophy of this prolific designer.

People always say that it’s not a good idea to get ahead of oneself. However, in iconic designer Pierre Cardin’s case, he never feared being ahead of the curve.

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As a young tailor at the house of Paquin in 1944, Christian Bérard appointed Cardin to handle the designing of the costumes and masks for Jean Cocteau’s film Beauty and the Beast. After a short stint at Schiaparelli’s, he worked with Christian Dior for three years, till the opening of the New Look couture house. In 1949, Cardin set up his own company to design theatre costumes. The grand post-war celebratory balls kept him extremely busy. Some of the prestigious guests that he dressed up for these balls, held in Paris or Venice, were the likes of Étienne de Beaumont, Charles de Beistegui and Arturo López Willshaw. Along with this activity, the astute, multi-talented designer started designing suits and coats for a small, niche set of clients. And it was in 1953 that he established his own haute couture house at Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, Paris, assisted by a talented young designer, André Olivier.

Style for everyone

Pierre Cardin soon gained a reputation for his avant-garde vision. He was the first to bring his creations down to street level by launching a prêt-à-porter collection, which he showcased at the Le Printemps department store in 1959, for which he was subsequently evicted from the Parisian haute couture association for three years. This pushed him to be his own person.

The ideal Pierre Cardin woman was someone who was always ready for a new style challenge. And the designer was capable of presenting a magical combination of the present and the future. In fact, one of his unisex collections was called Cosmos. He even designed new-age costumes for men—The Beatles wore his suits in 1964 as did John Steed in the 1967 British show, Bowler Hat and Leather Boots. This revolutionary stylist designed the Cardine in 1968, a stitch-free dress made with synthetic fabric. The miniskirt paired with the maxi-jacket was also a Cardin style invention. This silhouette greatly influenced style in the ’70s. The sunglasses he designed were showcased in most of his collections and were often in the shape of two large portholes, symbolising openness to the world.

Back to the future

Influenced by art, design and architecture, Pierre Cardin bought over the Ambassadeurs theatre in 1968 and transformed it into a cultural space: Espace Cardin. He launched a furniture collection, Pierre Cardin Evolution, which has pieces he described as ‘utilitarian sculptures’. They were particularly popular in the ’80s. His Palais Bulles, designed by the architect Antti Lovag, on the French Riviera, is a perfect example of how he adapted science fiction to daily life through architecture.

Today, not one season goes by where Pierre Cardin’s influence on style is not visible in great designer collections. It is partly because Cardin’s work is well known throughout the world because of its futuristic trait. Pierre Cardin’s new collection of eyewear reflects this aesthetic. Two optical frames and two models of sunglasses, inspired by the ’60s, have been released by Safilo, giving it an interesting contemporary twist. The colourful sunglasses are either round or rectangular. The acetate frames have got a ‘cat’s eye’ design, featuring contrasting colours. Pierre Cardin’s symbolic logo is present on the side stem of every pair. These cult classics are making a comeback, and will not be going away anytime soon.

The Pierre Cardin eyewear collection is available at www.safilo.com

From the May 2014 issue of L’Officiel India.