In 1990 Pierre Cardin celebrated the 40th anniversary of the opening of his Paris couture house. The son of impoverished Italian parents, he started his fashion career by sewing for Christian Dior and in the 1950s began to be recognized as one of the young men who would inherit the mantle of Chanel, Dior and Paquin. But as the wealthy clientele for high fashion dwindled, Cardin used the value of his reputation as a designer to move into new areas - menswear, ready-to-wear, fashion boutiques in department stores and the licensing of his name to other manufacturers. Cardin did not invent the designer label, but he exploited the idea to an formidable extent, putting his name on thousands of products, from frying pans to aeroplanes. This biography describes Cardin's flair for publicity, his relationships with Jeanne Moreau and with his employers and associates, his management style, his pioneering in countries like the USSR and China and his controversial acquisition of Maxim's.