French fashion designer Pierre Cardin, died on Tuesday (December 29) aged 98. Cardin made his name by selling designer clothes to the masses, and his fortune by being the first to exploit that name as a brand for selling everything from cars to perfume.
Cardin was known for his business sense and influenced catwalks with his space-age, futuristic bubble dresses, and geometrical cuts and patterns.
Cardin, was active in fashion circles until the last, still taking young designers under his wing, attending parties and events, and regularly visiting his Paris office.
Cardin was the first designer to sell clothes collections in department stores in the late 1950s, and the first to enter the licensing business for perfumes, accessories, and even food – which later drove profits for many other fashion houses.
