French fashion icon Pierre Cardin, who made his name by selling designer clothes to the masses, has died aged 98.

France's Fine Arts Academy announced the news in a statement.

In a career spanning more than 60 years, Cardin drew scorn and admiration from fellow fashion designers for his brash business sense.

He maintained that he built his business empire without ever asking a bank for a loan.

Cardin was the first designer to sell clothes collections in department stores in the late 1950s, and the first to enter the licensing business for perfumes, accessories and even food — now a major profit driver for many fashion houses.

 

Oh wow... Just read about his death now on the local newspaper.

An icon is gone indeed

 

Sad news. An extraordinary career in design and fashion. He designed some very funky watches too, google his eSpace collection from circa 1969. Here's an example of one. (I don't wear it much, the strap is terrible.)

 

P.S. This line of watches features Jaeger movements, no less.