Is fashion designer and couturier Pierre Cardin a genius? That is certainly the question the new documentary, House of Cardin, seeks to examine. Directed by P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes, the film chronicles the extraordinary life of the world renowned designer and artist. With anecdotes told by Dionne Warwick, fashion writer Amber Butchar, Jenny Shimizu, Alice Cooper, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Sharon Stone, and Pierre Cardin himself, we get a real glimpse into the designer’s personality, accomplishments and how he shaped the fashion world.
Born in Italy into a large family, he was the youngest of nine siblings. Cardin was pretty young when his family left Italy for France to escape the rise of fascism. It was in France he became Pierre Cardin. Self taught, Cardin got his start at Christian Dior in 1946 as the house’s first tailor. And when it was time for him to go out on his own, it was Dior that sponsored his first collection.
As a designer and couturier, Cardin was certainly a forward thinker. It may have been a chic, pleated red coat that got the attention of the fashion industry, but it was his use of color, structural modernity, and futuristic silhouettes that awed. As the U.S. was having a reckoning on race in the 60s, Pierre Cardin cast models of color in shows in France. His couture designs we saw on Japanese model Hiroko Matsumoto solidified his fashion genius.
Cardin was also known to bolster other artists. Jean-Paul Gaultier got his start in fashion because Cardin hired him at just 18 years old. Now a global influence, Pierre Cardin created his empire through the business savvy idea of licensing. The Cardin logo was placed on everything from fragrances, towels, neckties, eyewear, and even a Javelin car. Though I’m sure only scratching the surface of his life, the fascinating documentary not only chronicles Cardin’s fashion career, but a couple of his love interests, his move into furniture design and his admiration for theater and art.
House of Cardin made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Queer Lion Award. The film went on to win the Lifetime Achievement, Best Fashion Feature Film, and Best Director of a Feature Fashion Film Awards at the Cinemoi Cinefashion Film Awards, and was also nominated for the Gold Q-Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. The documentary runs 98 minutes and is available on-demand September 15th.
