A Pierre Cardin Exhibit in France Influences Next Gen Fashion Students
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Famous designers tend to get locked into the decades in which they were most globally influential. For Pierre Cardin, that's the '50s and '70s, where he pioneered Space Age-style, turning away from haute couture in lieu of fanciful designs like the bubble dress, and then led the Mod movement with mini-skirts, graphic designs, and futuristic fabrics. But for a group of students at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Cardin's influence hit much later. The SCAD Lacoste campus in France was close to Cardin's own home, and the designer would pop over to offer students advice and mentorship. "Cardin took fashion from Olympus and made it available to everyone," says curator Rafael Gomes, head of fashion exhibitions at SCAD. "And he was always incredibly friendly and open with our students; it was great for them to learn from him and his pieces directly rather than history books."
When Cardin died December 2020, the school wanted to honor the designer, not only for his 70 years in fashion, but also for the impact he made on SCAD students. "The exhibition, Notre Ami, celebrates how Cardin was always looking toward the future with the neoprene tops, the car wash dress," says Gomes. "It includes elements from his iconic Bubble Palace in Cannes as well, showing his influence on everything from Barbarella to Star Trek." Although it wasn't intentional, the exhibition's timing coincides with another era of the space race, as Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos recently launched their respective rockets into the atmosphere. Notre Ami will be open through September 3 to the public, and the accompanying film I Am Thinking of Pierre Cardin (which was produced by SCAD and awarded Best Fashion Documentary at the London Film Festival) is available here.
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