1980s Clothing

Ever since his beginnings as a designer in France during the 1940s, Pierre Cardin had an eye for avant-garde. Working closely with Jeanne Paquin, a noted fashion designer in the former part of the century, and later Elsa Schiaparelli, Cardin did not begin his own fashion house until the early 1950s. Around this same time, he officially kick-started his career with a stunning contribution to a Venetian masquerade ball hosted by Carlos de Beistegui, an eccentric millionaire and art collector with a passion for mid-20th century beauty. Shortly thereafter, Cardin ventured into the world of haute couture.

Over the years, Cardin developed a signature style that was experimental, radical, and sometimes taboo even by modern standards. The fashion industry was not ready for his designs; he was often criticized for his work and even expelled from the Chambre Syndicate at one point. Stifled by the restrictions of his time, Cardin launched his own venue, the Espace Cardin, in 1971 to promote new artists in varying fields of art including theatre, music, and fashion.

With his work rising to prominence in the 1980s, Cardin completely reinvented the human shape and eventually ignored it altogether. He appreciated the human figure, but he had a penchant for incorporating geometric shapes into his work, thereby nullifying the wearer's natural shape. The most prominent example is the Caldin bubble dress. The bubble dress served as more of a slip than anything, a virtually shapeless design that would sharply angle the wearer's body, often crafted in bold colours.

Other examples of his avant-garde work include his Space Age dresses and unisex designs that sometimes dipped into the impractical. His clothing was undeniably fashionable, but the practicality of such items was in question. Consumers at the time were more interested in shapes that complimented the human form, often citing Thierry Mugler as the more practical choice despite the Mugler house's reputation for unconventionality. Nonetheless, his fashions became famous throughout Europe and his haute couture collections flourished by the late 1980s.

Despite the controversial content in his work, Cardin made his mark on the fashion world. Even his home in Cannes is unconventional and slightly impractical, infamous for its "bubble" design that more closely resembles a group of red clay pots than a home. In all aspects of his life, Cardin was a pioneer, blazing the trail for future generations of avant-garde designers who would later follow his example by going against the grain and creating new standards for fashion.