French Designer Pierre Cardin Died At The Age Of 98

French fashion designer Pierre Cardin has died at the age of 98, the French Academy of fine arts announced in a twitter statement on December 29. His family confirmed to AFP that he died in a hospital outside Paris.

Pierre Cardin was born in 1922 outside Venice in Pietro Cardin. After his family moved to France to seek the protection of fascism, he was called Pierre. He was trained as a tailor when he was young. After working as a tailor for Christian Dior in the new style period, he founded his own brand with the same name in 1950.

In 1959, Pierre Cardin launched the haute couture collection at Printemps, a far sighted move that temporarily forced him out of charge of French haute couture. In the 1960s, he broke through the tradition again with his futuristic neutral design, defining the fashion of the space age. Pierre Cardin was also one of the first designers to enter Japan, China and Russia, eventually developing a modern brand by authorizing his name to accessories, furniture, household goods and perfume. The Beatles, Barbara Streisand, Jackie Kennedy and Naomi Campbell are celebrities wearing his designs.