In Memoriam: Fashion World Bids Farewell to Pierre Cardin

Legendary French fashion designer Pierre Cardin has died at the age of 98.

Cardin was credited with helping revolutionize fashion with his futuristic designs in the 1960s and 70s.

He was also a pioneer in business, licensing his name to be used on a range of products such as sunglasses.

He died in hospital in Neuilly, near Paris, his family told the AFP news agency.

Cardin was only 14 when he started as a tailor's apprentice. At 23, he moved to Paris, studying architecture and working with the Paquin fashion house and later with Elsa Schiaparelli. In the French capital, he met the film director Jean Cocteau and helped design masks and costumes for the 1946 film "La Belle et La Bete."

 He moved to Christian Dior in 1946, working as a pattern cutter on the feminine "New Look" fashion of post-World War II. Four years later, he opened his own fashion house, designing costumes for theater.

In 1953, he presented his first women's collection and the following year, he founded his first ladies boutique, Eve, and unveiled the bubble dress. The garment, a loose-fitting dress that gathers at the waist and hem and balloons at the thighs, won international acclaim. Soon, his fashions were being worn by such bold-face names as Eva Peron, Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, Mia Farrow and Jacqueline Kennedy.

In 1957, he traveled to Japan, becoming one of the first European designers to explore Asian influences. He later was a pioneer in getting China to break out of its drab, militaristic Mao Zedong look.

Also in 1957, he opened another Paris boutique, this time for men and called Adam, and featuring colorful ties and printed shirts. He later made the iconic collarless suits for The Beatles and...