Legendary French fashion designer and licensing maven Pierre Cardin has died at age 98.
During the 1970s and ’80s, the Cardin name was embossed on thousands of products, including watches and bedsheets, and sold at over 100,000 stores across the world.
Cardin was known for popularizing the Space Age style that became common in the 1960s.
The French Academy of Fine Arts announced Cardin’s death in a tweet on Tuesday. It did not specify when the designer died or his cause of death.
“Fashion is always ridiculous, seen from before or after. But in the moment, it’s marvelous,” Cardin said in a 1970 interview with French television.
With André Courrèges and Paco Rabanne, Cardin specialized in “sharp shapes” and graphic patterns starting in the 1950s. He was known for spandex gowns with plastic hoops, bubble dresses and bucket hats that covered the entirety of a model’s head.
Born in Italy in 1922, Cardin moved to France during his childhood and became a tailor’s apprentice at age 14.
He worked as an assistant in the House of Paquin, and also worked with Jean Cocteau, Elsa Schiaparelli and Christian Dior.
