Pierre Cardin (born 1922) came from obscurity but very quickly became one of the top fashion designers in the world and was the trailblazer for the soft and floppy fashion look of the 1950s and 1960s. He developed the first line of clothes for men by a courtier and continually changed and expanded the world of fashion with his creations over the years. He is considered a living legend in the fashion industry.

Pierre Cardin was born at his parents vacation home at San Andrea da Barbara near Venice, Italy on July 7, (some sources say July 2) 1922. In 1926, his parents moved back to their native France where Cardin grew up in the industrial town of St. Etienne in the Department of Loire in southeast France. His parents were wealthy wine merchants who had always hoped their son would become an architect, but by the age of eight Cardin was showing...