Pierre Cardin, designer who turned name into brand, dies at 98 Laurence Arnold, Bloomberg News Pierre Cardin in his Paris office in 2016. , Bloomberg Pierre Cardin, the Parisian designer who forever changed fashion when he broke with French couture houses and offered ready-to-wear clothing in department stores, ultimately transforming his name into a diversified global brand, has died. He was 98. The Agence France-Presse reported the news, citing his family. Franceâs Academy of Fine Arts confirmed the news in a tweet. He lived in Paris and acquired properties including a castle in the south of France once owned by the Marquis de Sade and the Palais Bulles, or âBubble Palace,â his futuristic mansion in Cannes.