Ageless Cardin brings new show to China

The Water Cube was glowing again when French fashion mogul Pierre Cardin held his latest fashion show there recently.

Named Palais Lumiere, or the City of Light, the show featured 120 women's pieces and 60 men's pieces.

An actual Palais Lumiere is a conceptual building that will be constructed by Cardin in Venice.

Using only solar power to emphasize the concept of environmental protection, the building will stand 780 feet high, linked by six giant discs from the outside. It will include gardens, lakes, restaurants, apartments and theaters, according to Cardin.

Inspired by this building, Cardin is using his trademark dazzling colors and geometric shapes in his latest day wear collection.

The evening dress collection is also about geometry, with elements of watercolors, crayons and kaleidoscopes, which recall the wearers' childhood.

The designer says fashion and architecture have something in common.

"All these art forms need passion, creativity, and courage, and are universal languages that speak to people of different cultures," Cardin says.

He used a lot of Chinese elements in the show, including those outfits inspired by traditional Chinese architecture. Cardin also tried to create modern zhongshanzhuang - known as "Mao suits" for Westerners.

"But I am only looking for inspirations from Chinese culture - I would not hold a show based on it. It is plagiarism for me," he says.

Putting the show together was not an easy task. Cardin is 89 years old this year, but he insisted on coming to the Water Cube with his team to supervise it.

However, many Chinese fashionistas did not buy it. They criticized him for creating old-fashioned garments for this fast-growing market.

Cardin gave his explanations: "China is experiencing huge changes. When I first came to China, all the people were wearing green and gray suits without any differences, but now, Chinese people have a much more deeper understandings of beauty. This (criticism) is an advantage for China's fashion industry."

Cardin is considered a pioneer in China's fashion industry. He was the first foreign fashion designer who held a show in China in 1979.

Following his show in the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing, many fashion labels, including Playboy and Cartelo, came Beijing and Shanghai in the late 1980s.

His Maxim's restaurant, opened in Beijing in 1983, was the city's preferred place for foreigners and rich Chinese to hold parties through the 1990s.