Prominent French fashion designer Pierre Cardin passed away at the age of 98. Le Figaro reported that on Tuesday, citing his family.
The official cause of death is yet unknown. Cardin died at a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
The great designer is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical. He founded his fashion house in 1950 and introduced the "bubble dress" in 1954.
Inspired by space travel and exploration, Cardin visited NASA in 1970, where he tried on the original spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong, the first man who has ever walked the Moon. Cardin even created his own design for NASA in 1970.
He was designated a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 1991, and a United Nations FAO Goodwill Ambassador in 2009.
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 "wildly nonadjacent products such as baseball caps and cigarettes".
