The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2021 - Issue 29

bitedesignerprofile the France-Italie Prize by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in France. He was also asked to design uniforms by the Chinese government for its public servants. Labelled the ‘king of licensing’, Pierre’s ventures stemmed from wallpaper to cigars and mineral water to tableware and helped catapult his business to higher heights, despite being expelled from the French fashion industry union. His vision was to be- come a brand: “because a fashion label can disappear in three months, but a brand remains.” The Pierre Cardin name even- tually found its way into more than 100 countries in an array of objects. Extraordinarily, the designer staged catwalk shows in unprec- edented locations such as the middle of the Gobi Desert, on board an aircraft carrier in Tianjin, China, on Moscow’s Red Square with over 200,000 spectators - a first in Russia, inside Rome’s prestigious Villa Medici and at the White Palace royal residence in Belgrade, Serbia. In the 1970s, he worked on ob- ject design, jewellery, fragrances, and even the catering busi- ness to become the famous Parisian restaurant Maxim's owner in 1981. He expanded his scope beyond designing to open a foundation for painters, sculptors, and set designers' work in Paris, taken over by the Municipality of Paris in 2016. He also established the Passe-Present-Futur (Past, Present, Future) museum in Saint-Quen, France, in 2006, which moved to 5 rue Saint-Mer- ri, Paris, in 2014. The designer also bought the castle that be- longed to the Marquis de Sade in Lacoste, France and some 30 houses in the same town, intending to turn them into cultural event venues. Following Pierre’s death on 29 December 2020 at the age of 98, his great-nephew Rodrigo Basilicati announced the design- er’s manifold business activities would continue to thrive on a global scale. The engineer, pianist, designer and artist plans to stage a significant catwalk show event on 29 December 2021 to reach a younger audience. In the 1990s, Pierre put him in charge of the Sculptures Utilitaires furniture line. In 1999, Rod- rigo was co-opted into the Pierre Cardin Evolution holding company, of which he became general manager in 2018 and then president in 2020. Rodrigo’s goal is to rejuvenate the Pierre Cardin fashion label and give the stores’ window displays a fresh look. “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 conver- sation about [Cardin] going without completely changing the line’s identity, as is done at other labels.” He then added, “I’m here to think like my uncle would, inasmuch as this is possible.” https://pierrecardin.com/en