Fashion Designer. He was born in Italy but due to fascism, his family who were wealthy landowners left in 1924 and settled in France. From childhood, he was interested in dressmaking. He began his career at the age of 14 by working as a clothier's apprentice, learning the basics of fashion design and construction. He left home to work for a tailor in Vichy, where he began making suits for women. During World War II, he worked for the Red Cross, launching humanitarian interests that continued throughout his life. In 1943, in moved to Paris and studied architecture and worked with the Paquin fashion house after World War II. He became head of Christian Dior in 1947 but left in 1950 and founded his own fashion house. He launched his career when he designed about 30 of the costumes for what was called "the party of the century," a masquerade ball at Palazzo Labia in Venice on September 3, 1951, hosted by Carlos de Beistegui. He started his haute couture output in 1953. In 1954, he introduced the "bubble dress" which is a short-skirted, bubble-shaped dress made by bias-cutting over a stiffened base. He was the first couturier to turn to Japan as a high fashion market when he travelled there in 1959. That same year, he was expelled from the Chambre Syndicale for launching a ready-to-wear collection for the Printemps department store as the first couturier in Paris to do such a thing, but was soon reinstated. During the 1960s, he started something that is now commonplace by creating the system of licenses that he was to apply to fashion. A clothing collection launched around this period surprised all by displaying the designer's logo on the garments for the first time. As haute couture began to decline, ready-to-wear soared as well as his designs. He was the first to combine the "mini" and the "maxi" skirts of the 1970s and he introduced a new hemline that had long pom-pom panels or fringes that swayed as the body moved. In the 1970s, he also set another new trend called “mod chic.” He was the first to combine extremely short and ankle-length pieces. He made dresses with slits and batwing sleeves with novel dimensions, and mixed circular movement and gypsy skirts with structured tops. These creations allowed for the geometric shapes that captivated him to be contrasted, with both circular and straight lines. Cardin became an icon for starting this popular fashion movement of the early 1970s. He was so inspired by space travel and exploration that he visited NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in 1970 and tried on the original spacesuit worn by the first human to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong. He loved the spacesuit so much that he created his own design for NASA. In 1975, he opened his first furniture boutique on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. His furniture designs were highly inspired by his fashion designs. In both 1977 and 1979, he was awarded the Cartier Golden Thimble by French haute couture for the most creative collection of the season. He was also a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Prêt-à-Porter from 1953 to 1993. In 1994, he decided to show his collection only to a small circle of selected clients and journalists. After a break of 15 years, he showed a new collection to a group of 150 journalists at his bubble home in Cannes. Pierre Cardin used his name as a brand, initially a prestigious fashion brand, then in the 1960s extended successfully into perfumes and cosmetics. From about 1988 the brand was licensed extensively, and appeared on products such as baseball caps and cigarettes. A 2005 article in the Harvard Business Review commented that the extension into perfumes and cosmetics was successful as the premium nature of the Pierre Cardin brand transferred well into these new, adjacent categories, but that the owners of the brand mistakenly attributed this to the brand's strength rather than to its fit with the new product categories. The extensive licensing eroded the brand's credibility, but brought in much revenue; in 1986 Women's Wear Daily (WWD) estimated Cardin's annual income at over $10 million. In 2011, Cardin tried to sell his business. Ultimately, he did not sell the brand. He entered industrial design by developing thirteen basic design "themes" that would be applied to various products, each consistently recognizable and carrying his name and logo expanding into new markets. He entered into a contract with American Motors Corporation (AMC) and following the success of the Aldo Gucci designed Hornet Sportabout station wagon interiors, the automaker incorporated his theme on the AMC Javelin starting in mid-1972. This was one of the first American cars to offer a special trim package created by a famous French fashion designer. It was daring and outlandish design "with some of the wildest fabrics and patterns ever seen in any American car." He bought Maxim's restaurants in 1981 and soon opened branches in New York, London, and Beijing (1983). A chain of Maxim's Hotels (Palm Springs, California, 1986) were included in the assets. He also licensed a wide range of food products under that name. During the 1980s and until the mid-1990s, he supported a French press organization for music-hall, circus, dance, and the arts presided over by the French journalist, Jacqueline Cartier, with authors and personalities. A biography titled “Pierre Cardin, His Fabulous Destiny,” was written by Sylvana Lorenz.