Pierre Cardin founded his fashion house in Paris in 1950 after working for Paquin, Schiaparelli, and Dior shortly after he opened his business in 1947. Initially designing costumes for stage productions, he launched his first women's couture collection in 1953 and women's ready-to-wear in 1959. Cardin's company grew into an empire starting in the 1960s when he began licensing his name to a wide array of products outside of clothing.

"It's a job I love. It's my passion, it's my drug."