perceived dishonour that it brought to the luxury fashion world, led to his
expulsion from the strict French governing body of haute couturiers, the
‘Chambre Syndicale’. Today, high fashion for the masses has been adopted
by several luxury brands through diffusion lines and also by premium fash-
ion brands like H&M, Zara and Top Shop.- Pierre Cardin was the first to license his name to products ranging from
fashion apparel and accessories to food and furniture. His democratic
vision of fashion led to his first licensing agreement for men’s shirts and
ties. He later extended this outlook outside the fashion category in 1968
with other licences. This launched a new era of luxury fashion brand exten-
sion and designer lifestyle goods that have been adopted by luxury brands
today. His licensing deals have also extended to consumer goods such as
stationery and luggage. However, the licensing partnerships became too
rampant and seemingly uncontrolled, leading to a loss of the brand’s core
equity and value. - Pierre Cardin was the first luxury fashion designer to embark on global
expansion by opening stores all over the world, including Japan, China and
Russia. His fashion shows in China in the 1970s was the first by a Western
fashion designer. This paved the way for the luxury fashion romance
currently existing between luxury brands and the Asian market. - He was also one of the first designers to adopt expensive and rare materi-
als in product manufacture. For example, he was the first designer to use
crocodile skin instead of leather in his accessories creation and also fur in
graphic patterns. These practices have since been adopted by several
luxury brands.
Licensing methods and results
The major retail strategy adopted by Pierre Cardin is licensing of the brand
name to third parties in multiple product categories. The company currently
has more than 900 licensing agreements in several product groups like fash-
ion and accessories, wines and spirits, confectionary, toiletries, home deco-
rations, furniture, restaurants and hotels, among several others. These
licensing agreements span more than 140 countries. In addition to these,
there are several Pierre Cardin stores which retail the designer’s own fash-
ion creations at premium prices, in different fashion cities, including his
Paris home base. Pierre Cardin also owns a publishing business and the
Maxim’s sub-brand, which includes a restaurant and hotel chain, boat
services and other goods such as champagne, confectionaries, sweets, choco-
lates, cigars, fruits and florists. He also has a US$20 million private museum
‘Espace Cardin’, in Paris. These ventures paint an unclear picture of the
complete product and services portfolio of the brand and what Pierre Cardin
owns and controls and what he doesn’t. It also makes it difficult to position
the brand and its offerings.300
luxury fashion branding