Pierre Cardin
Cardin with French actress Nora Arnezeder, 2009.
Born	(1922-07-07) 7 July 1922 (age 89) San Biagio di Callalta, Italy
Nationality	French
Occupation	Fashion designer

Pierre Cardin (French pronunciation: [pjɛʁ kaʁdɛ̃]), born Pietro Cardin, is an Italian-born French fashion designer who was born on 7 July 1922, at San Biagio di Callalta near Treviso.

Cardin was known for his avant-garde style and his Space Age designs. He prefers geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical. He introduced the "bubble dress" in 1954.

Pierre Cardin was also designated UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 1991.^[1]

On 16 October 2009, Pierre Cardin was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).^[2]

Career[link]

Pierre Cardin dress, 1967

Cardin moved to Paris in 1945. There, he studied architecture and worked with the fashion house of Paquin after the war. He worked with Elsa Schiaparelli until he became head of Christian Dior's tailleure atelier in 1947, but was denied work at Balenciaga.

Cardin founded his own house in 1950. His career was launched when he designed about 30 of the costumes for "the party of the century", a masquerade ball at Palazzo Labia in Venice on 3 September 1951, hosted by the palazzo's owner, Carlos de Beistegui. He began with haute couture in 1953.

Cardin was the first couturier to turn to Japan as a high fashion market when he travelled there in 1959.

In 1959, he was expelled from the Chambre Syndicale for launching a ready-to-wear collection for the Printemps department store as the first couturier in Paris, but was soon reinstated.

Pierre Cardin - Cobra Table and Chair

Cardin resigned from the Chambre Syndicale in 1966 and began showing his collections in his own venue, the "Espace Cardin" (opened 1971) in Paris, formerly the "Théâtre des Ambassadeurs", near the Embassy of the United States in Paris. The Espace Cardin is also used to promote new artistic talents, like theater ensembles, musicians and others. He was also contacted by Pakistan International Airlines to design uniforms for the flag carrier. The uniforms were introduced in 1966 to 1971 and became an instant hit.^[3]

In 1971, Cardin redesigned the Barong Tagalog, a national costume of the Philippines by opening the front, removing the cuffs that needed cufflinks, flaring the sleeves, and minimizing the embroidery. It was also tapered to the body, in contrast with the traditional loose-fitting design; it also had a thicker collar with sharp and pointed cuffs. A straight jacket design was favored by President Ferdinand Marcos.^[4]

Cardin was a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Prêt-à-Porter from 1953 to 1993.

Like many other designers today, Cardin decided in 1994 to show his collection only to a small circle of selected clients and journalists. After a break of 15 years, he showed a new collection to a group of 150 journalists at his bubble home in Cannes.

Automobiles[link]

Cardin interior in a 1972 Javelin

Cardin expanded into other markets that included a contract with American Motors Corporation (AMC) following the success of the Aldo Gucci designed Hornet Sportabout station wagon interiors. The automaker incorporated Cardin's daring and outlandish design "with some of the wildest fabrics and patterns ever seen in any American car" on the 1972 and 1973 AMC Javelins.^[5] The original sales estimate was for 2,500 haute couture muscle cars.^[6]

A total of 4,152 AMC Javelins received a bold mirrored multi-colored pleated stripe pattern in tones of Chinese red, plum, white, and silver set against a black background. This was one of the first few American cars to offer a special trim package created by a famous fashion designer. The Cardin Javelins also came with the designer's emblems on the front fenders and had a limited selection of exterior colors (Trans Am Red, Snow White, Stardust Silver, Diamond Blue, and Wild Plum) to coordinate with the special interiors.^[7]

Other interests[link]

Cardin bought Maxim's restaurants in 1981 and soon opened branches in New York, London, and Beijing (1983). A chain of Maxim's Hotels are now included in the assets. He has also licensed a wide range of food products under that name.

In 2001, Cardin purchased the ruins of the castle in Lacoste, Vaucluse that was once inhabited by the Marquis de Sade; he has partially renovated the site and holds music festivals there.^[8]

Cardin also owns a palazzo in Venice named Ca' Bragadin. Although Cardin has claimed in several interviews that this house was once owned by Giacomo Casanova, in reality it was the home of Giovanni Bragadin di San Cassian, bishop of Verona and Patriarch of Venice.

In 2003, Cardin invited the award-winning Chechen children's dance ensemble, Lovzar, to dance in his musical show "Tristan and Isolde", performed in Moscow.

Biography[link]

• Sylvana Lorenz, Biographie de Pierre Cardin (Paris: éditions Calmann-Lévy, 2006) (French)

References[link]

• Hesse, Jean-Pascal (2010). Pierre Cardin: 60 Years of Innovation. Assouline. ISBN 978-2-7594-0424-7. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pierre Cardin

• Pierre Cardin official website
• Pierre Cardin designer profile at Fashion Model Directory
• Sculptures Utilitaires by Pierre Cardin
• Pierre Cardin rare interview
• Pierre Cardin Palais Bulles
• Pierre Cardin Museum
• Pierre Cardin the man behind Maxim's
• Pierre Cardin and the Art Nouveau
• Sewing patterns by Pierre Cardin
• FAO Goodwill Ambassador website
• "Interactive timeline of couture houses and couturier biographies". Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1486_couture/explore.php. 

Michael "Mike" Melvoin (May 10, 1937 – February 22, 2012) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He served as chairman and president of The Recording Academy and worked as a prolific studio musician, recording with Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, The Jackson 5, Natalie Cole, and The Beach Boys. Melvoin was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for "All Or Nothing At All" from his album It's Always You.^[1]

Melvoin was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and began playing the piano at the age of three. He studied English at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1959,^[2] but decided to pursue a career in music. After moving to Los Angeles in 1961, he played with Frank Rosolino, Leroy Vinnegar, Gerald Wilson, Paul Horn, Terry Gibbs, Joe Williams, Peggy Lee and others. He released his debut album as a bandleader, Keys to Your Mind, in 1966 on Liberty Records. Melvoin played in clubs in Los Angeles, and accompanied singer Bill Henderson and played with Herb Ellis and Plas Johnson on Concord Jazz releases.

Melvoin worked extensively as a studio musician, performing on the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966), Frank Sinatra's That's Life (1966), the Jackson 5's ABC (1970), John Lennon's "Stand by Me" (1975), Tom Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner (1975), and Barbra Streisand's "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" (1976). He also began composing for film and television in the early 1970s, contributing scores to Fame and MacGyver.

His children, Wendy (of Wendy & Lisa), Susannah and Jonathan all became professional musicians. Melvoin died in Burbank, California on February 22, 2012 of cancer, at age 74.^[3]

Discography[link]

As leader[link]

• Keys To Your Mind (Liberty Records, 1966)
• Between The Two (Liberty, 1968)
• The Plastic Cow Goes Moooooog (Dot Records, 1969)
• Unknown Title (Discwasher, 1979)
• Redeye (Voss Records, 1988)
• The Capitol Sessions (with Charlie Haden and Bill Henderson) (Naim, 1999)
• Oh Baby (City Light Records, 2002)
• It's Always You (with Phil Woods) (City Light, 2003)
• Like Jazz (with David Basse) (City Light, 2003)
• Playing the Word (City Light, 2006)
• You Know (City Light, 2006)

As sideman[link]

This section requires expansion.

With Milt Jackson

• Memphis Jackson (Impulse!, 1969)

With Lalo Schifrin

• Music from Mission: Impossible (Dot, 1967)
• More Mission: Impossible (Paramount, 1968)
• Mannix (Paramount, 1968)
• Bullitt (soundtrack) (Warner Bros., 1968)
• Rock Requiem (Verve, 1971)
• Gypsies (Tabu, 1978)

With Gábor Szabó

• Light My Fire (Impulse!, 1967) with Bob Thiele
• Wind, Sky and Diamonds (Impulse!, 1967)
• 1969 (Skye, 1969)

With Tom Waits

• Nighthawks at the Diner (Asylum, 1975)

As composer[link]

• Keem-O-Sabe (by the Electric Indian, top 40 hit 1969)

References[link]

• Scott Yanow, Mike Melvoin at Allmusic

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2010)

Rianne ten Haken (born May 7, 1986) is a Dutch model. She was born in Lelystad, Flevoland, and began modeling after she won the 2001 Elite Model Look competition at the age of 15.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003 Rianne walked her first runways. In New York she debuted at the Marc Jacobs show and got picked up by other big clients after that.

In December 2003 she landed her first major cover for Italian Vogue, photographed by Steven Meisel. That same month she also appeared on the cover of Numero photographed by Mert & Marcus. Rianne has worked with several famous fashion photographers as Steven Meisel, Craig McDean, Patrick Demachiellier and Peter Lindbergh. She worked for magazines such as American, Italian and British Vogue, Numero, W and GQ. Recently, she landed back to back covers and fashion editorials in Vogue Italia for the October and November 2009 issues.

Ten Haken was seen in advertising campaigns for companies such as Versace, Armani collezioni, Armani exchange and La Perla. She also featured in cosmetic campaigns for Versace, Chanel, Guerlain and Clarins.

As a runway model, Rianne has walked the catwalks for designers such as Calvin Klein, Dior, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Prada, Miiu Miiu, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Diane von Furstenberg, Versace, Roberto Cavalli and many more.

Rianne is represented by Women Model Management, Elite Model Management and Traffic.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rianne ten Haken at the Fashion Model Directory
• The Internet Fashion Database

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Suzy Menkes, OBE (born 24 December 1943) has been head fashion reporter and Editor for the International Herald Tribune since 1988. In that time she has written over 1.7 million words in the paper.^{[citation needed]}

Menkes was born in Britain. She was educated at Brighton and Hove High School. In the 1960s, she went as a teenager to Paris to study dressmaking. Viewing her first couture show at Nina Ricci sparked her interest in high fashion.^[1]

On her return from Paris, she read history and English literature at Cambridge University. After Cambridge, she worked for The Times reporting on fashion. In addition to her journalism, she has written several books, particularly on British Royal style.

Among Menkes's trademarks is her signature pompadour. She lives in Paris, is widowed and has three sons and three granddaughters. She holds the Legion d'Honneur in France and a British OBE.^[2]

In November 2009, she appeared as one of the judges on the finale of Lifetime TV series Project Runway. In 1996 she appeared in the second 'Last Shout' special in British comedy Absolutely Fabulous, playing herself.

From the International Herald Tribune:

Suzy Menkes, the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, has been named an officer of the Order of the British Empire for her services to journalism. In January, Menkes was named a chevalier of the Legion of Honor by President Jacques Chirac of France. The induction ceremony for that award will take place in Paris next week.

Reputation[link]

Unlike the delicate relationship often shared between fashion houses and designers, with the fashion media and journalists. Menkes has a reputation within the fashion industry for being much loved by all for both her personality and her fair and balanced reviews of fashion shows. A designer once refused to invite her to his show due to taking offense at some negative comments she had made in a previous collection review (though she did give positive comments as well). Many people in the industry rallied behind her and boycotted the designer's show as a result until the situation was resolved.

Books[link]

• The Royal Jewels, Suzy Menkes. Contemporary Books, 1990. ISBN 0-8092-4315-6.
• The Windsor Style, Suzy Menkes. Salem House, 1991. ISBN 0-246-13212-4
• Queen and Country, Suzy Menkes. Harpercollins, 1993. ISBN 0-246-13676-6
• Knitwear Revolution: Designer Patterns to Make, Suzy Menkes. Penguin USA, 1985. ISBN 0-14-046695-9
• Hussein Chalayan, Hussein Chalayan, Caroline Evans, Suzy Menkes. NAI, 2005. ISBN 90-5662-443-1

References[link]

1. ^ Hero Brown, 'The fashion pack', handbag.com, 2005. Retrieved 12 February 2007.
2. ^ International Herald Tribune biography (PDF)

External links[link]

• Profile interview of Suzy Menkes by John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 17 March 2001
• Profile of Suzy Menkes, Varsity newspaper, Cambridge University, 25 November 2005, p. 11 (.pdf file)

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