Pierre Cardin's future lies at the foot of a rocket ship
Stratospheric. This one word sums up the show presented this Friday, January 28 at the National Air and Space Museum, staged in tribute to the first anniversary of the death of French couturier, Pierre Cardin, and intended to present the new collection created by Rodrigo Basilicati Cardin along with his creative studio.
The good old days of the fashion house’s physical fashion shows returned (we especially remember the brand’s 2018 presentation on the Great Wall of China). 850 guests, wearing mink coats and down jackets of all colors, from silver to daring pinks, braved the cold of Le Bourget to settle under huge tents at the foot of the Ariane 5 rocket.
The spectacle lasting 50 minutes presented continuous flashings of mesmerizing lights and sounds, and two giant screens projecting two retro videos detailing “space fashion” (aerial silhouetted loved by the founder) and the house’s signature “cosmocorps” style, which was invented at the end of the 1960s.
The first part of the show presented Cardin’s last designs before his death, a retro-futuristic lineup featuring Star Trek inspired silhouettes, numerous capes, flying saucer skirts, and dresses in a pop color palette. The Cosmocorps 3022 collection that followed was described as “a continuation of Pierre Cardin’s work,” by Rodrigo Basilicati Cardin, nephew of the couturiere and heir to his empire. He added that it “required a year of hard work, and was made to represent with some evidence the Cardin style and touch.”
In order to launch "the new Cardin generation", the creative studio relied on the same personalities that inspired Cardin himself for 30 years, such as Maryse Gaspard, creative director and former muse of Cardin. A series of images taken at the French Guiana space center, with the subjects pictured watching amazed by the flight of a rocket, were on display, symbolizing the rebirth of the house.
The 180 silhouettes included space warrior looks featuring XXL Pierre Cardin logos, 60s and 70s inspired retro dresses, a model wearing what resembled Peter Pan’s green coat, pop colors, purple and blue reflective lamé, glitter, superheroine capes in an elegant midnight blue, streamlined sunglasses, and bags in geometric shapes. The models looked as if they had just come out of the sci-fi TV series, V, as their outfits’ pointed collars and shoulders resembled the costumes seen on the show.
The incredibly memorable finale presented a duo of space-alien models. The first wore a gold lamé suit under an indefinable helmet, and the other in a Teletubbies-styled dress, while the silhouette of a whirling dervish twirled to the sound of ethereal music, a remarkable performance before greeting the cosmonauts arriving from the Guiana space center. It had to be seen to be understood.
During the final photocall, dinner guests such as Sylvana Lorenz (a close friend of Pierre Cardin) took center stage, and Rodrigo Basilicati Cardin praised the teamwork involved in organizing this monumental show, "the most difficult thing in the end, was not to present the creative heritage of Pierre Cardin, but the way we wanted to ensure the continuation of the company. Pierre wanted me to continue his brand, and the family supported me. With delicacy and progression, the transition went well."
The Pierre Cardin brand, which is present in 170 countries, should now undergo a creative refocus around its many licenses moving forward. "Over the past 20 years, the development of licenses has been uncontrollable," concluded Rodrigo Basilicati Cardin."It is up to us to regain control of this by being more present and redefining the direction of the brand’s design, each piece must embody the Cardin style," he pointed out.
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