Oriental
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin is the brand of a French couturier who turned his name into a system. Entering haute couture in 1957 and regarded, alongside Courrèges and Rabanne, as one of the inventors of the futuristic fashion of the sixties, he extended his signature to hundreds of licensed products, perfumes included. The house is now led by Rodrigo Cardin.
Pierre Cardin perfumes
The couturier of futuristic fashion
Pierre Cardin founded his house in 1953 and entered haute couture in 1957. The bubble dress of 1954, silhouettes built on circles and triangles, and the Cardine dress molded in a textile developed for it: his fashion imposed its shape on the body rather than the reverse.
Along with André Courrèges and Paco Rabanne, he is regarded as one of the inventors of the futuristic fashion of the sixties. A trip to Japan in 1957 left a lasting mark on his collections, and the 1968 Mao suit remains one of his most cited silhouettes.
The licensing system
From the sixties onward, Cardin sold the right to affix his name in exchange for royalties, starting with ties. The signature ended up on shirts, sheets, mineral water, furniture and tableware, eventually covering several hundred products distributed in about a hundred countries.
The dilution of the brand is the downside of the method, and the French press noted it during his lifetime. The couturier defended it as the foundation of his company's strength, estimating in 2011 that eight hundred licensed products alone were worth eight hundred million.
Perfumes, a license among others
Perfumery follows the same mechanism. The licensee that operates the brand today presents Pour Monsieur, launched in 1972, as its first men's fragrance, recognizable by a bottle of three interlocking circles, and Choc, from 1981, as its first women's fragrance.
Pierre Cardin died in December 2020, at ninety-eight. The parent house, headquartered at 59 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, has passed into the hands of Rodrigo Cardin.