Ever since his first visit in 1963, Pierre Cardin had a fascination for the Soviet Union. His early Space Age collections were profoundly inspired by Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering flight and Valentina Tereshkova’s triumphant mission as the first woman is space.
Seeing potential in the Eastern European market, Cardin collaborated with various Soviet textile factories to produce and distribute his collections. Available only to high ranking party officials in special Beryozka boutiques, the popularity of Cardin’s designs made him the first Western couturier to gain acclaim in the USSR.
In 1986, he signed the brand’s largest contract: 32 Soviet factories were to produce Pierre Cardin designs which would be sold across the nation. This move was part of Gorbachev’s Perestroika program, instituted in the mid 1980s to restructure and revamp the USSR’s economy.
Cardin’s relationship with the Soviet Union did not end there. As a UNESCO goodwill ambassador he also helped raise funds to clean up the Chernobyl catastrophe.
In 1991, Cardin staged a fashion show with 250 Soviet models at the Red Square, attended by a staggering 200 000 spectators and broadcasted on national television.
Couturier, businessman, fashion diplomat.
