The Name Remains the Same, The Meaning Has Changed
There are many designers that the mainstream just are not aware of from the past unless prompted to study academically because their fashion houses often closed upon their retirement many years ago. Unless, of course, one has studied them academically or they struck a chord with a particular social movement or clothed a Hollywood star. There are exceptions. There are greater opportunities today to license one’s name to insure that one’s moniker will be recognized in average households far beyond a usual time frame for a designer to have worked and then retired, and far beyond death. Pierre Cardin, who began his career following World War II was the first to come out with a “ready to wear” line. He was also revolutionary in bringing his fashion to China and Russia.
According to the Vintage Fashion Guild Label Resource:
“Some see his couture accomplishments eclipsed by his reputation as “The License Man.” After all, the Cardin moniker is affixed to more than 500 licenses. Caroline Rennolds Milbank states in her book, Couture, “Today, Cardin’s diversification overshadows his work in couture. His current reputation rests more on the variety of his endeavours…as well as on his undaunted efforts to dress (or somehow effect) every human being in the world.”
So what does one do with so much clothing? There has to be a way to know what to look for, with Cardin items existing from the couture on down to discount and from the 40s to months from now. As far as strictly the eye of the vintage lover, it is important to note that Mr. Cardin had a hand in design up until the very early 70s. In particular, this Creation Pierre Cardin label from a silk tie that is shown at the bottom of the photo is a good example of one of the Cardin labels to look for, though there are other earlier ones as well. After that, Mr. Cardin was more of a figurehead and a marketer. Other people designed items, if indeed they were not produced elsewhere, or even sold under other names, and just affixed with a Cardin label.
1970s, designers, fashion history | Comment (0)
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