Pierre Cardin: He Dressed Jane Jetson and Lady Gaga
Some observations on the influential designer who made futurism his watchword.
“Pierre Cardin linen pants, 1972,” from the Brooklyn Museum exhibition “Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion,” 2019.Credit.Archives Pierre Cardin
1. He had the right name.
The Italian-born Frenchman Pierre Cardin’s surname was perhaps the first French word that many Americans could easily pronounce. People with no inkling of how to utter designer names like Givenchy, with its suppressed “g,” and the sibilant Gallic uptick at the end of Saint Laurent (let alone the impossible Yves) had little difficulty speaking the two syllables and hard consonants of Caar-dan. Lesson: If you plan to become a household name, pick one anybody can say.