Pierre Cardin Speaks

Here's a transcript from an interview I did with Pierre Cardin in 2002. In the wake of Paris Fashion Week, I thought I would share some of it. Many mock Cardin for putting his name on everything and anything he could, but I think that undermines a very important point. Cardin had a fabulous life. He is a happy and proud man. He is also rich, but that seems to matter less to him. He traveled the world, signing each of the licenses himself, and has had the freedom to try his hand at whatever he wanted. Meeting Cardin was a bit like visiting elderly grandparents. His office is a shrine to his heyday, he jumps from subject to subject (and often in and out of French) but I think, if you read between the sometimes-disjointed lines, there are important lessons for designers starting out today. Cardin has been talking about selling his company for years. But it is unlikely that anyone will pony up the $1 billion it is said he is seeking, for a company which is licensed to the hilt. But you've got to respect him for going his own way -- and for still turning up at the office every day to run the company. In a year that has seen Valentino announce his retirement, Gianfranco Ferre die and Yves Saint Laurent look increasingly ill, here's a chance to hear from one of the old guard still very much in his own game. And, when you're in your 80s, isn't that the one that matters most of all?

"After the war everything was in reconstruction. We enjoy to make big ball, to build work. And everyone makes a big space, but very few people were in the shops. I am a businessman, everything is mine. I don't believe big success is possible when you start with a financier because you don't know who is behind the bank. I started with 20 people. I was successful immediately. People criticized me because I made ready-to-wear 49 years ago and the price was less. It was a scandal. Now I have 300 people in my factory and I work all the time. I need to make fashion because I lose everything if I stop. Some people like golf. . .

"My name is very popular. In China I am the most popular designer. I have been there for 27 years. There was a press conference in France when I came back and 300 journalists came. I am in Germany, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam -- everywhere in the world. I have over 800 licenses around the globe. I have my own mineral water, I have my own Cognac. I have my own perfume business.

"I enjoy to spend money, but I like to keep it too. I travel three months a year. I have a castle in Lacoste, Vaucluse , but I have no time to go. I design the bed, the sheet, everything. I like very strongly what I do. I want to start again and rebuild exactly what I do. So many people are sad, but they never say it. Me, no. I work. My problems are noise for other people. I come here Saturday, Sunday and I draw. I am very happy.

"I have a design staff, but 30 percent of the designs I draw myself. I draw very quickly. You can see immediately my shape. In one hour I draw 100 sketches. Me, I have no time to go to the computer. I like to draw very much."