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Pierre Cardin was among the few designers to start work at the house of Christian Dior on its very first day of business, Dec. 16, 1946. "The doors were to open at 9 o'clock and I was there at 8," Cardin recalled in an interview in his Paris office. "I couldn't wait."
Cardin said a sensational atmosphere of joy and purpose permeated the atelier in those formative days as Dior, wearing a white smock over his suit and tie, guided fittings for his famous debut - the New Look. The radical silhouette, with its pinched waist, folds of voluminous fabric and long hemline, would seal the designer's fame and launch his business with a rush of orders. But Cardin said Dior was wrought with panic and indecision as he assembled that historic, first collection.
"We remade the dresses at least 30 times," said Cardin, who was then 20. "He was so indecisive. He had the hems brought down and then brought up. We were modifying everything until the very last minute before the show.
"He always worked with a long white [pointing stick]. He would point to a collar and say, 'Change this like that.' Or, 'Take that hem up.' He sat behind his desk all day long, overseeing fittings...