Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Pierre Cardin exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, and it was truly inspiring. The retrospective exhibit, “Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion” explores the designer’s seven-decade long career. He was known for his unique couture designs until he blurred the boundaries between haute couture and street fashion with his ready-to-wear collection. Each of his designs incorporate the idea of gender neutrality, multi-materiality, kinetic fashion and space age design; all inclining towards the concept of futurism in fashion. Susan Kaiser said, “Intersectionalities can be interpreted through an analysis of time and space together.”1 I believe that these futuristic designs are also a result of an analysis of time and space together.
While walking around the exhibit, I couldn’t help but notice the diverse range of materials that Pierre Cardin used to create garments such as metal, plexiglass, LED lights, vinyl. He experimented with new fabrics and discovered his own, “Cardine” in 1968. This sculptural dress caught my eye because of its unique texture and structure. It is so versatile as it doesn’t crush and cannot lose its shape. It can be washed and packed but it still springs back to its original shape and can be worn straight away without worrying about anything. One would say that Pierre Cardin knew how fast today’s society would be. It is almost as though he knew what people will need and want today. He created a structural dress from his own fabric all the way back in 1968 but still managed to create a dress that today’s society would look up to. The “Cardine” dress, the metal hat and the latex gloves reflect space-age fashion that automatically points towards the future. Ultimately, I believe that his choice of materials is what makes his designs more futuristic.
Cardin’s vision is inspiring. He designs for tomorrow, “In 2069, we will all walk on the moon or Mars wearing my ‘Cosmocorps’ ensembles. Women will wear Plexiglas cloche hats and tube clothing. Men will wear elliptical pants and kinetic tunics.”2
- Susan Kaiser, Fashion and Cultural Studies (London; New York: Berg, 2012), 175.
- Charlene Lau, “How Pierre Cardin’s Futuristic Fashion Infiltrated Everyday Life,” The Atlantic, July 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/07/pierre-cardin-future-fashion-brooklyn-museum/594577/.
