Cardin Collection Startling

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31462, 31 August 1967, Page 3

Cardin Collection Startling

Pierre Cardin is one of the most original thinkers among the Paris high fashion designers. He combines a subtle creative talent with strong intellectual powers and keen business ability.

Every design in his collection is the result of research. He travels widely so that he may feel the pulse and rhythm of life by direct contact with various civilisations and cultures. This is the third of a series of articles on the recent Paris collections specially written for “The Press” by Miss Avice Bowbyes, lecturer in clothing and costume design at the Home Economics College, University of Guelph, Canada.

For him fashion Is universal; a way of life and life itself. He shows men’s and women’s clothes together in an ensemble with the same feeling and rhythm. His collection was certainly the most startling of those I saw in Paris recently. As if out of nowhere, to the accompaniment of stretched-out strains of electronic music, 12 male and female models appeared to show his famous cosmo-corps suits inspired by astronauts’ space suits. The men were in narrow jackets, with ring collars, leather belts, heavy industrial zippers for closings, narrow pants and boots trimmed with aluminium bands. Colours were grey, green, maroon, black and blue. The girls were in jersey tunics, slightly flared for ease of movement, with cut-outs, or coloured insets, in red, violet, brown, beige, green. They wore them over black turtle-neck sweaters. Aluminium bands trimmed the hats,

belts, and boots, which were worn with dark stockings with shadowy patterns. French girls think these outfits are wonderful to wear, because they can introduce changes with different colour combinations. They buy them in the Cardin Boutique in St. Germain des Pres, ready made, for SUSI2S to SUSISO. Suits cost SUSI2O ready to wear but are SUS24O made to order. The rest of this constantly moving exhibition of 200 models continued sometimes with variations on a theme for “him and her,” sometimes with only “him,” or only “her.” Men’s tailored suits were narrow and fitted. The jackets

were long. Colour was the new thing. Light blue was teamed. with white stripes, white with black stripes. For sports, corduroy suits in green, brown, blue-green and grey went with velveteen caps. For evening a series of Sandeman capes, to be worn over evening suits, were in dark colours, but the most striking was off-white, full and dramatic, with an officer’s collar. This cape was worn over an indigo blue suit in wool satin (a material similar to face cloths, with a black satin tuxedo collar and a white shirt of finely tucked nylon. Some in the audience liked best the black opera cloak worn with red bow-tie and red patent leather shoes. For the women, Cardin kept his skirts short and used dark stockings. Some of the coats were long, fitted and lightly flared, bordered and collared with fox. Many capes were designed in brilliant striped material. Suita had jackets flaring at

the back, bordered with fur at the hem and neck. A popular skirt had swinging pleats at the sides.

Simple wool dresses had cut-ups at the centre front of the skirt. Stiffened linen dresses were designed with bias seams at the back. Evening gowns had triangular hems dipping to the floor at the back and knee high at the front, encrusted with Paillettes or ostrich feather niching. One of these in green and silver puckered fabric with halter neckline was very appealing. Medieval gowns in black velvet were ruched at the neckline and had long sleeves open to the elbow. Cardin featured the chasuble theme for day and evening wear and for a wedding dress.

As its name suggests, the chasuble outfit consists of a vestment-like outer garment which is worn over a sleeveless dress.

It appeared in a cape and dress in dark lilac broadcloth, the chasuble cape had a rolled collar in beaver, which was also used to edge the cape. The no-collar, sleeveless dress had a brown leather belt with a big gold buckle. With this outfit the model wore brown patterned stockings and brown leather boots with rolled tops. The wedding dress was presented in pale pink, fine pure wool gabardine. The fulllength chasuble was completely edged in white mink and was worn over a long sheath dress made with a square neckline. The matching bonnet-hood was also edged with mink and the whole effect of this new idea for a wedding dress was quite charming In its femininity.