RENOWNED FRENCH FASHION DESIGNER PIERRE CARDIN DIES AT 98

Paris: French fashion designer Pierre Cardin, hailed not just for his visionary creations but also for bringing stylish clothes to the masses, died on Tuesday aged 98. Cardin, born to a low-income family in Italy who became the fashion czar in France, died in a hospital in Paris, his family said.

“It is a day of great sadness for all our family. Pierre Cardin is no more,” the statement said. It said after a lifetime spanning a century he had left France and the world a “great unique artistic heritage” and not only in fashion.

Born in 1922 near Venice in northern Italy, his family emigrated to France when he was a small child. “Italian by birth, Cardin never forgot his origins while bringing unconditional love to France,” said his family.

Cardin grew up in the French industrial town of Saint Etienne and was apprenticed to a tailor in Vichy at the age of 17. Moving to Paris, he designed the mesmerising sets and costumes for the film Beauty and the Beast with poet, artist and director Jean Cocteau in 1947.

After a stint with Christian Dior, he had already set up his own fashion label in 1950. He quickly established a name as an innovator, creating the now legendary bubble dress in 1954.

His 1964 “Space Age” collection remains a landmark in fashion history with its cut-out dresses, knitted catsuits, tight leather pants, close-fitting helmets and batwing jumpers.

His global empire had a strong presence in Japan and also signed production deals with Cold War-era Soviet Union in 1978. He also became the first French designer in 1979 to cement links with China. He was also the first designer to hold a fashion show in Red Square in Moscow in 1991, drawing a crowd of 200,000.

WITH AGENCY INPUTS