Pierre Cardin to fête founder with Paris show on January 28

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jan 5, 2022

Pierre Cardin will stage a grand runway come-back by holding a major tribute show in honour of its eponymous founder. The show was initially scheduled on December 29 2021, exactly one year after Cardin died, aged 98, on December 29 2020, and has been postponed to January 28, right after Paris Haute Couture Week, which is set to end on January 27.

This “exceptional runway show” will be held on “Friday January 28 2022 at 7 pm CET at the Le Bourget Air and Space Museum” outside Paris, as the label announced in a press release. Pierre Cardin picked this unique venue in homage to the renowned couturier’s spectacular shows. The event, “wished for and masterminded by [Cardin’s] nephew Rodrigo Basilicati-Cardin, now at the head of the group, will feature the style and codes that have made the label's success,” added Pierre Cardin.

The event will showcase the last models created by the eclectic designer, and will also present the new collection by the Pierre Cardin design studio. In a press conference held in March 2021, Rodrigo Basilicati, who has now added ‘Cardin’ to his surname, recalled the long hours he spent with Cardin during the pandemic: “he gave me plenty of ideas. He also left many sketches for new models, which will be developed for our next show. It will be a huge show, a tribute to [Pierre Cardin’s] memory.”

Basilicati, Cardin’s spiritual heir, also said that “we can keep the Pierre Cardin ready-to-wear line alive without parroting it, but simply respecting [its heritage], which is very clear, with instantly recognisable products. We want to keep the conversation about [Cardin] going without completely changing the line’s identity, as is done at other labels.” Basilicati himself has taken charge of the label’s augmented design studio.

The show, featuring women’s ready-to-wear looks and also a number of menswear ones, will unveil several hitherto unseen Pierre Cardin creations, as well as new models designed by the label’s studio, inspired by Pierre Cardin’s monumental archives. The latter include nearly 30,000 items and are all held by the group. For the first time, new models created after Pierre Cardin’s death will be presented. It will be a significant first step in enabling the label to promote the continuity of its heritage.