Suit

Pierre Cardin

ca. 1960 · wool · Costume Institute

This suit demonstrates Cardin's penchant for creating dramatic form from cloth. He extended the conventions of strict tailoring to incorporate a soft peplum with a controlled gathering that reveals his understanding of the balance and grain of fabric. His predisposition to an architectonic approach is evident in his shoulder and sleeve treatment. Cardin's innovation in the 1950s was his ability to think in terms both of fashion subtlety and semaphore, seeking the graphic emblem without vitiating the qualities of tailoring.

Artist

Pierre Cardin

Date

ca. 1960

Medium

wool

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Kay Kerr Uebel, 1994