Legendary French Fashion Designer, Pierre Cardin Dies At 98

French fashion designer, Pierre Cardin, hailed for his visionary creations but also for bringing stylish clothes to the masses, has died on Tuesday, December 29.

Cardin, known for his visionary creations and also bringing stylish clothes to the masses, died at a hospital in Neuilly, west of Paris at 98, his family told news agency AFP.

France’s Fine Arts Academy confirmed Cardin‘s death in a tweet, adding that members of the academy are “very sad”.

The fashion designer was born in Italy in 1922 but emigrated to France as a young child. He founded his own fashion house in 1950 after a stint with Christian Dior and built up a global business empire.

He cut his teeth working at top couture houses such as Christian Dior before going on to launch his own brand and pioneering the use of licensing in fashion, plastering his label’s name on products of all kinds and making a fortune in the process.

As well as shaking up fashion with bubble-dresses and geometrical designs, Cardin was also one of the first to bring high fashion to the masses by selling collections in department stores from the late 1950s.

His savvy business sense brought him a mix of admiration but also scorn from fashion purists at the time but he maintained that he built his business empire without ever asking for a bank loan.

Along with Paco Rabanne and Andre Courrege, Cardin was hailed for developing the futuristic Space-Age-inspired styles that defined looks in the 1960s and 1970s.

He was also credited with bringing stylish clothes to the masses, popularizing the turtleneck sweater for men and bodysuits for women.

Cardin adopted a large-scale licensing system that ensured distribution throughout the world, putting his name on products as diverse as ties, cigarettes, perfumes, and mineral water.