| Silver is a precious material, giving these watches added value | His parents were wealthy wine merchants, but lost their fortune in World War I |
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| It was daring and outlandish design "with some of the wildest fabrics and patterns ever seen in any American car" | He claimed to be involved in every one of the 800-plus items, sold in 140 countries, that would bear his name |
The lunar look by Pierre Cardin, 1968.
| Cardin founded his own fashion house in 1950 | During his much-photographed relationship with the actor , at the height of her fame, he designed her outfits: the pictures show them as unflattering, even unsympathetic |
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| After a break of 15 years, he showed a new collection to a group of 150 journalists at his bubble home in | As haute couture began to decline, 'prêt-à-porter' soared as well as Cardin's designs |
The symbiosis between brand publicity and personal appearances, plus restless curiosity, took Cardin and his collections to China, the US, Russia — where he opened a boutique as early as 1981 — India, Pakistan and Australia, and across.
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