Pierre Cardins first job involved making the costumes and masks for the film “Beauty and the Beast”. The glittering fashion world in the haute couture capital rapidly seduced him and his ambition to make a name for himself in this milieu was born.Soon he got work as an apprentice in the newly created Christian Dior fashion house. He started as a tailor and gained experience working his way around each department before mastering the necessary design skills. In 1950 he finally sets up his own eponymous fashion house. He presented his first collection in 1953， date which marked the official start of his career as a designer. Twenty years of hard work followed and Pierre Cardin fulfilted his entrepreneurial dream： he became a world famous designer. His success was marked by the French Haute Couture world when he was awarded three times the “Dé dOr”. One nomination for the award is the haute couturiers dream， but to receive it three times is unheard of and remains to this day unsurpassed. In 1992， Pierre Cardin confirmed his position at the top of the haute couture world by taking his place among the elite of the Académie Franaise. Nowadays the Pierre Cardin label is well known； but what is also remarkable is the designers success as a business man. In the French fashion world， and to a certain extent， the western fashion world， there are three categories. At the top of this golden triangle is the Haute Couture world. Each year in Paris， Milan and New York the collections from the best couturiers are presented to the world， each more luxurious and extravagant than the next. The shows and their designers are the darlings of the media， who come from all other the world to cover the events. However， these clothes carry exorbitant price tags and are certainly not within the reach of ordinary people who mostly wear off the peg clothes. Mass production may have eased the price but the design value also suffers. Pierre Cardin set a new precedent by bringing haute couture off its sacred pedal stool， becoming the first fashion designer to “mass produce” haute couture. The repercussions are huge： firstly it made haute couture more accessible， moving it out of the exclusive domain of the upper classes. It brought the latest techniques of the fashion world within reach of the middle classes or even ordinary people. Secondly it launched the prêt-à-porter industry opening up a vast market. With hindsight this move seems quite logical， but at the time it was considered sacrilegious and was very badly received by the haute couture world. It even led to Pierre Cardin being expelled by the Chambre Syndicale， the monitoring body of haute couture in Paris. However， several decades later most of the major design brands have followed suit and now produce a prêt-à-porter line， proving that his decision at the time was a sound one. The head start that Pierre Cardin gained with this courageous step had， in the meantime， allowed his brand to secure huge market share all over the world. According to statistics “Pierre Cardin” is one of the highest selling brands in the world. Being the first on a market gives a company a commercial edge and this is precisely what Pierre Cardin proved again by this pioneering move， not to mention securing handsome profits for his company. Today， the Pierre Cardin fashion empire comprises 400 brand franchise contracts throughout the world， manufacturing and sales centers in more than 130 countries and a staff numbering 200，000. What must be noted is that these accomplishments result from Pierre Cardins personal decisions， carried out under his supervision. He is the owner of this vast commercial machine. The portfolio of companies and brands that make up the group are firmly under the control of Pierre Cardin， which coupled with his design talents， make him an unusual figure in todays business world.
Success in his profession and in the business world have never been enough for Pierre Cardin， and he has always striven to promote cultural relations through numerous social actions， to enhance cross cultural exchange and to help people work and live together without strife. With this in mind， in 1957， he undertook a trip to Japan， a country at that time just emerging from the war. This would be the first of over 30 visits to Japan where he is held in respectful admiration. From the 80s onwards， Mr. Cardin travelled to the ex USSR and even organized a fashion show on Red Square in Moscow. He has also travelled to Vietnam， Cuba and Libya， countries still closed to the world， to carry out diplomatic missions that could not be carried out by those in official positions. This led to Pierre Cardin being named as an Honorary Ambassador to UNESCO in February 1992， responsible for the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the ex USSR and for the promotion of tolerance. The notion of tolerance can be defined as people from different backgrounds not discriminating based on race， wealth， education， gender， culture or religion， but living together in mutual respect and equality with a common agenda. Pierre Cardin designed the 6 colored tolerance flag which was hoisted in regions such as the Middle East， to inspire tolerance in peoples hearts. For warring nations any sign of peace is extremely precious. Pierre Cardin has also been a patron of the arts. In 1970 he opened the Cardin Cultural Centre， just a short walk from the lysée Palace， to create a platform to help launch young promising artists. To date such artists as the great Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya， the Canadian singer Céline Dion， the Vietnamese painter Daniel Jègo or even the Chinese painter Deng Lin have all benefited from Pierre Cardins support. At the end of 2000， a season of Chinese culture was presented through paintings. Pierre Cardin has also held the position of Secretary General of Mediterranean States Committee； has raised funds through auction to restore the Great Wall in China and to preserve Venice from rising waters； he has just recently created an international federation to oversee the restoration of the Alexandria lighthouse in Egypt. In short， although Pierre Cardin expends a huge amount of energy in his philanthropic work， he finds it enormously rewarding.
humble [‘hmbl] adj.（级别或地位）低下的
haute [ut] adj. 高级的，豪华的
eponymous [pnms] adj. 以本名命名的
philanthropic [，filnθrpik] adj. 博爱的；仁慈的
皮尔·卡丹先生绝对是一个传奇人物。他的传奇首先在于他的奋斗历程：从赤手空拳几乎一无所有到世界顶级服装设计大师；他的传奇还在于让高档时装走下高贵的T型台，让服装艺术直接服务于老百姓；集服装设计大师与商业巨头于 一身，卡丹的商业帝国遍布世界各地；他近年来的成就在于他的社会活动，他完成了许多职业外交家所无法完成的功绩，为世界各国人民的相互了解和和解作出了巨大的贡献；最后，对于中国人民来说，他又是一个久经考验的老朋友，三十多年来他以非凡的热情和充沛的精力在欧亚大陆之间架起了友谊的桥梁。让我们再来回顾一下卡丹先生的传奇一生吧。
卡丹先生于1922年7月2日出生于意大利的威尼斯，也许是南欧国家的浪漫和水城的风情为卡丹先生奠定了艺术家的基础。在他两岁的时候，他就随着家庭迁居到法国的维希市。从学校毕业后，就到一家公司任会计，在此期间掌握的知识使卡丹先生至今仍然受益。第二次世界大战的战火炸毁了卡丹先生的家园，一家人奔走他乡。年仅22岁的卡丹两手空空，但怀着干成一番大事业的雄心壮志，独自一个人来到了欧洲的中心——巴黎。巴黎这个具有悠久历史的大都市是友善的：她曾造就了无数的英雄，从政治家、军事家、到商人和艺术家，只要你有才华，她就会给你施展的舞台。巴黎又是冷漠的，在为成功者开启大门的同时，又把平庸之辈拒之门外。一个初出茅庐的年轻人创业的艰难是可想而知的。
卡丹先生最早的工作是为电影“美女和野兽”制作布景和服装。他一下子就被服装之都的华美服装所吸引，立志要在服装行业有所作为。后来在刚刚开业的迪奥公司学徒，从裁缝开始，掌握了服装设计、制作全过程的各项技术。1950年，卡丹先生终于创建了以自己的名字命名的服装公司，1953年他推出了第一台时装秀，正式开始了服装设计师的生涯。经过近20年的不懈努力，卡丹先生终于实现了自己创业的梦想：当一个世界级的服装设计师。他的成就得到了公认：卡丹先生曾三次获得法国服装设计的最高奖赏——金顶针奖。这个奖项能得到一次提名已是设计师的最高成就，三次获得的更是凤毛麟角，直到今天，还没有人能超过卡丹先生。1992年，卡丹先生的作为唯一的服装设计师入选精英荟萃的法兰西学院，从而奠定了卡丹先生作为世界顶级服装设计大师的地位。现在卡丹先生的服装设计已经广为人知，其实同样可贵的是他的商业成就。法国的时装，或者从广义上说西方的时装分为三个档次。在金字塔顶端的高档订制时装（La Haute Couture）。每年在巴黎、米兰和纽约展出顶级设计师的作品，豪华之至，代表了世界最高水平，因而是世界各国媒体争相报道的对象。美中不足的是这些服装开出的都是天价，绝对不是一般人能够享受的。而普通人穿的一般是成衣，即由工厂大批量生产的系列服装，成本虽然降下来了，但是艺术性却难以得到保证。卡丹先生开创先河，让高档时装走下神圣的T型台，成为第一个批量生产高档时装的设计师。此举具有非常重大的意义：一方面，它把从来只属于上流社会的高档时装“大众化”了，使中产阶级甚至平民百姓也可以享受时装的最新技术；另一方面，它给成衣制造业注入了巨大的活力，开阔了广大的市场。这个具有划时代意义的革命性创意在今天看来是理所当然的，而在当时，却被视为异端邪说，为当时的高档时装界所不容。卡丹先生因此还被开除出法国男装协会。可是时间和实践是最好的评判。数十年后，世界各大时装品牌几乎都走上了卡丹先生开创的道路：批量生产成衣。所不同的是，卡丹先生已经利用他的勇敢得到了“先机”，带有 “皮尔·卡丹”商标的产品占领了世界市场。根据统计，“皮尔·卡丹”是世界上销售最多的商标之一。在商场上，“先机”往往意味着“商机”。卡丹先生以他的远见卓识再一次证实了这一点，他也从中得到了巨大的经济回报。今天，皮尔卡丹的商业帝国在全世界拥有400多个商标特许合同，在130多个国家生产和销售，直接从业人员达到20万人。特别需要指出的是，所有这些成就都是在卡丹先生的直接策划和指挥下取得的，他是这部巨大商业机器唯一的老板。 在当今世界上，卡丹先生是集服装设计师和品牌、公司的百分之百所有权于一身的人，可以说是绝无仅有。
卡丹先生不满足于他在专业和商业领域所取得的成就，一直致力于通过各种社会活动增进各国人民的文化交流、建立友谊，从而减少战争，达到各国人民、各种文化和平共处、互相借鉴、共同发展的目的。为此，卡丹先生从1957年开始，就连续造访刚刚走出战争阴影的日本，至今他已访问过日本三十多次，深深受到日本人民的爱戴。卡丹先生自80年代以来多次访问苏联，并在莫斯科红场上举行卡丹服装表演。他还到访过越南、古巴、利比亚等等尚未完全对外的国家，作为民间外交家，发挥了职业外交家无法企及的作用。因此，联合国教科文组织在1992年2月聘任卡丹先生为名誉大使，负责苏联切尔诺贝利核电站事故和促进相互包容。所谓包容是指各国人民不分种族、财富、教育、性别、文化、宗教等差异，互相容忍，平等相处，共同发展。卡丹先生亲自设计了六色包容旗帜，并在中东等地升起，以呼吁人民具有包容精神。对于处在战火中的人民，任何和平的信息都是十分宝贵的。卡丹先生还非常热衷于赞助艺术，1970年他在法国总统府隔壁开办了卡丹文化中心，为年轻有为的艺术家提供登台的场所。例如俄罗斯巴蕾舞艺术大师玛亚·普丽谢采斯卡亚、加拿大籍歌星席琳·迪翁、越南画家丹尼尔·尤、中国画家邓林等等，都得到卡丹先生的帮助。2000年底，中国文化季系列活动也在那里举办了画展。卡丹先生还兼任了环地中海国家理事会秘书长的职务，并发起了拯救威尼斯和长城的拍卖活动，另外他组织国际力量重修了埃及亚历山大灯塔。总之，各种社会活动占去了卡丹先生的很大一部分精力，他亦乐此不疲。