Space Age Designer: PIERRE CARDIN: Review By Polly Guerin

Raquel Welch in a Pierre Cardin Outfit

PIERRE CARDIN, (French b. 1922), the living monument of Space Age Fashion is the true embodiment of a twentieth-century renaissance man who tops the scales of designer achievements in pioneering advances in ready-to-wear and unisex fashion. "Throughout his decades-long career, Pierre Cardin has proved to be a master tailor and designer, as well as an intuitive businessman," says Matthew Yokobosky, Senior Curator of Fashion and Material Culture.
      PIERRE CARDIN: FUTURE FASHION at The Brooklyn Museum traces the legendary career of the fashion world's most innovative designers, one whose futuristic designs and trailblazing to democratize high fashion for the masses pushed the boundaries of the industry for more than seven decades. Image: Terry O'Neill (British b. 1938). Raquel Welch in a Pierre Cardin outfit featuring a miniskirt and necklace in blue vinyl, worn with a plexiglass visor, 1970. Image courtesy of Iconic images (c) Terry O'Neill/Ironic Images.
     The retrospective exhibition features over 170 objects that date from the 1950's to president, including haute
couture and ready-to-wear garments, accessories, film, and photographs drawn from the Pierre Cardin archive. Matthew Yokobosky added, "Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion reveals the designer's bold, futuristic aesthetic, which had a pervasive influence not only on fashion, but on other forms of design that extended beyond clothing to furniture, industrial design, and more."  SPACE AGE

Pierre Cardin Space Age Unisex Designs

INFLUENCE: Pierre Cardin is best know for his avant-garde Space Age fashions and his fascination with new technologies and the international fervor of the l960s Space Race visibly influenced his couture apparel, which subsequently became emblematic of the era.  His clothing design, which featured geometric silhouettes were often made from unconventional materials and were worn by international models and film stars from Brigette Bardot and Lauren Bacall to Alain Delon, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Raquel Welch. BREAKING THE MOLD: Fueled with an appetite for experimentation and "breaking the mold" he was on of the first European designers to show in Japan, China and Vietnam. Most significantly his entrepreneurial spirit kicked in on a massive scale when he licensed his name , using it to brand an expansive line of diversified products on a global scale. While Pierre Cardin was one of the few couturiers who was able to draw, cut and sew, fit, and finish his own clothing, his designs were far beyond garments, he also designed furniture, lighting, and automobile interiors. On view are rarely seen "couture" furniture and home decor, as well as custom accessories including hats, jewelry, shoes, and sunglasses. The costume, set and lighting designs for films such as Things to Come (1936), by visionary filmmaker William Cameron Menzies compliment Cardin's futuristic fashions providing a fuller picture of the fascination with outer

Pierre Cardin Space Age Fashion

space that dominated popular culture during the period. PIERRE CARDIN THE TAILOR: Trained in his teens as a tailor, Cardin lived in Vichy, France, during World War II and served in the Red Cross. Following the War, he moved to Paris, working at Maison Paquin and briefly at Elsa Schiaparelli before joining Christian Dior's groundbreaking house in 1947, the year of the "New Look."                          In 1950, Cardin founded his own fashion house, focusing first on costume design and then on haute couture. His ability to sculpt fabric with an archiectural sensibility, which became his signature, was complimented by his love for geometry. For Cardin's landmark 1964 "Cosmocorps" collection he designed futuristic looks using vinyl, metallic fabrics, large zippers, and hats that resembled astronatuts' helmets.  Since then, he has continuously turned to futurism and new technologies for inspiration. in his lifetime Cardin has won numerous accolades for his fashion, but also for his humanitarian efforts. In his lifetime Cardin has received an astonishing level of success, and at the age of 96 continues to walk to his office each morning and approach design with inventiveness and wonder.
Put on your space shoes and visit PIERRE CARDIN : FUTURE FASHION at The Brooklyn Museum 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY www.brooklynmuseum.org. You still have time to visit Pierre Cardin's remarkable journey. The exhibit extends to January 5, 2020.
          Ta Ta Darlings!!!  Just fly me to the moon and let me live among the stars wearing a
Pierre Cardin space suit.  Fan mail welcome at pollytalknyc@gmail.com. Visit Polly's other
Blogs on www.pollytalk.com and click on the links listed in the left-hand column.