Coming full circle, the Pierre Cardin Museum was inaugurated in Venice on Thursday, a city dear to the late designer, who was born as Pietro Costante Cardin in San Biagio di Callalta, 25 miles away, in 1922.
To mark the unveiling, his great-nephew Rodrigo Basilicati-Cardin held a grand costume reception, sending out an invitation to up to 600 people. The event deliberately coincided with the 75th anniversary of the legendary Beistegui Ball, or “The Ball of the Century,” at Palazzo Labia in Venice. The famed ball was hosted by Charles de Beistegui, the eccentric French-born Mexican multimillionaire art collector, socialite and interior decorator. Cardin created several costumes for the participants — including Salvador Dalì — at that event, which brought the designer international acclaim.
“I’ve had the idea of a museum in mind for the past four years, and, while at first I was thinking of Paris, I realized that it would make perfect sense to do it in Venice in our palazzo,” said Basilicati-Cardin, who took over as chief executive officer of the company in 2018 and went on to become its president and artistic director in 2020.
“Venice is such an international city, deeply connected to artists, exhibitions, cultural events, the Biennale Art and Architecture, and the film festival — and it’s home,” he said.
The expansive Palazzo Cardin, which covers almost 10,800 square feet, was acquired in 1981 and the brand held a menswear show there in 2022. In the garden — an extension that is quite a rarity in Venice — Basilicati-Cardin has chosen to display a few artworks by French contemporary artist Patrick Breteau, known for his abstract sculptures.
He recalled how the late Cardin also created a collection of “Sculptures Utilitaires [Utilitarian Sculptures],” functional furniture or usable works of art starting back in the 1970s.
Ahead of the opening, Basilicati-Cardin said in an interview that he was planning to display around 130 garments, avoiding crowding the spaces in the palazzo, with the idea of renewing the exhibitions every six months.
“My uncle kept his first models and never sold the [prototypes] from the runway. We have around 30,000 pieces, so we can stage exhibitions for 10 years,” Basilicati-Cardin said with a chuckle. “They had an enormous value for him, reflecting his activity over 70 years, with 300 to 500 pieces created per year.”
At Palazzo Cardin, which will be open for visits, the looks will not be displayed chronologically, he explained.
“My uncle’s designs are timeless and placed together, you can’t tell when they are from.”
Palazzo Cardin
An area will be dedicated to objects and accessories, jewels and belts. “He always wanted these all to be very visible from afar and recognizable as Cardin in terms of colors, shapes and structure,” Basilicati-Cardin observed. “It will be like a home museum, leaving his paintings, where he slept and so on.”
Venice has been an influence on the late Cardin and more recently on the brand. The city’s potential sinking future due to climate change was an inspiration for the fall 2026 show, held in March in Paris. Models walked against an AI-generated background of a glass-walled city kept habitable with giant water filters, an idea devised by Basilicati-Cardin, who is a trained engineer.
Pierre Cardin fall 2026
Courtesy of pierre cardin evolution
Venice was Cardin’s favorite Italian retreat before his death in December 2020 at age 98.
In 2019, the film “House of Cardin” directed by P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes, premiered in Venice at the film festival.
One of nine siblings, Cardin’s family escaped fascism, fleeing to France in 1924, and the film detailed his first steps in fashion, starting out at the house of Paquin, moving on to work for Elsa Schiaparelli and then at Christian Dior from 1947 to 1950, and his circle of artist friends, including Jean Cocteau, Christian Bérard, Pierpaolo Pasolini and Luchino Visconti.
Branching out on his own, Cardin was ahead of his peers in democratizing fashion, freeing women with his unconstricting shapes, and employing diverse models.
He ventured into menswear and furniture, turned eyewear into a hot accessory, famously inked a slew of licenses, and traveled to bring his fashion around the world when globalization was not a given.
Known for his Space Age designs, specifically the Bubble dress, in the 1960s, Cardin also pioneered the little multicolored shift dress worn with PVC bonnets, gloves and thigh-high boots. He dressed many notables, from Jackie Kennedy to Elizabeth Taylor.
He acquired a 10,800-square-foot building in Houdan, which he called “the house of dreams,” with the idea of creating a theater and artists’ residencies. Basilicati-Cardin said he plans to include an atelier school to train young tailors.
Cultural activities include those held at the Espace Cardin and the Festival de Lacoste, France. Cardin also bought the iconic restaurant Maxim’s.