Like many designer houses, Pierre Cardin is tapping into the talent of young creatives.
The designer company hosted a fashion show Wednesday at the French Consulate General in New York City to celebrate the winner of the Pierre Cardin Young Designers Competition. Initially, hundreds had given submissions for the competition, which was held in honor of the 100th anniversary of Cardin’s birth. Organizers chose 10 finalists, who engaged in a showdown to reimagine the futuristic vision of the designer, whose 70-year career spanned a myriad of categories.
Needless to say, that called for geometric patterns, space-age-worthy accents, and next-gen thinking. Students from The New School’s Parsons School of Design, the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Savannah College of Art & Design, the University of North Texas, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, California, Otis College, Houston Community College and other institutions were in the race.
Contestants were not asked to revisit the past, but rather to highlight the here and now, glimpses of select looks from the “Cent” couture show in Venice, Italy in July, and the “Cent” collection. Cosmocorps 3022″ January. of this year were shown to those attending the event on Wednesday night.
The designer’s 1964 “Cosmocorps” collection broke new ground by simplifying menswear without unnecessary accents or details. Still the next day, Cardin visited the NASA outpost in Houston in 1969. His cutting-edge designs used vinyls, plastics, and “Cardine” synthetic fabric. The designer was also a pioneer in unisex ensembles that featured multiple layers and statement jewelry. Cardin used a wide variety of references in his creations, including Japanese origami, Chinese architecture, and American football uniforms.
HyeRin Lee, a senior at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, was named the grand prize winner of the first annual contest. The competition was packed, according to Rodrigo Basilicati Cardin, president of Maison Pierre Cardin and a descendant of the pioneering designer, who died at age 98 in 2020.
During an interview Tuesday, Cardin said the pool of finalists had narrowed to 10 after a workshop in New York, later reflecting on the decision overnight. Picking the right candidate isn’t just a matter of selecting someone “who has good character or is a gifted cartoonist,” Cardin said. “They also have to be very quick thinking of new ideas. It has to be a hard worker and someone, who doesn’t mind working on Saturdays and Sundays sometimes.”
Lee’s reward includes a three-month, all-expenses-paid apprenticeship at Pierre Cardin in Paris with the potential to become a full-time employee. The FIDM student will also receive a salary of $1,000 per month and the opportunity to cut, sew and sketch. Later, the designer and the company will decide together if they want to continue with the company full-time, Cardin said. By designing shoulder to shoulder with the team, Lee should have a clear idea of whether he wants to stay or not. Being part of the team is demanding, as 1,000 drawings are typically needed for various licenses each month, said Cardin, who is interested in having some young designers travel to other countries to meet with licensees on a more regular basis.
Lee’s fellow finalists were Sabrina Leigh Thomas of Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Tristan Marley Wilson of the University of North Texas, Marian Magdaniel Safas of Houston Community College, Parsons students Shirley Tang and Marcelle Cooper, and Victoria Cooper. , SCAD’s Isabella Song, Wenqi Sun, and Lei Shang.
In addition to New York, Cardin will hold design workshops this month for the semifinalists in Houston and Dallas, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia and other cities. During this week’s stop in Dallas, the company will be honored Thursday night by the local chapter of Fashion Group International.
Seeking to hire a few young designers annually, Cardin said he hopes they will help build ties with licensees and meet regularly with them in other countries. He pointed out how a recent trip to Mexico City, Mexico, allowed for meetings with eight licensors to brainstorm ideas. “We have to start another era. For 25 years, no one kept up with them. [sufficiently] at the design level. We had sent many drawings to them, but we need more quality control. It is very important for me to go see all the different factories.”
With about 140 different licensors and between 300 and 400 total licenses, it’s not easy to visit every year, but more effort can be made, Cardin said. The plan is for prospective new hires to connect with 10-15 licensors to inspire them and keep them up to date. “You have to follow [what is happening] with the product. You have to work with them every week. Otherwise they forget [what is required]. They start doing what they want and the quality goes down. That has been a problem,” she said.
In the coming months, scouting trips are planned to Seoul, South Korea; Istanbul, Turkey; Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel; São Paulo, Brazil and Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa, and Cardin hopes to reach China and Taiwan later. Speaking of the importance of seeing how people work in person, Cardin said: “Maybe they’ve been working from home too much. You need to be able to see the spontaneous parts of how they design, whether it’s how they draw, work with software, or how fast they can work.”
Source: news.google.com