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Fashion is an art form as refined as it is capricious. Artists-designers are often in the spotlight of show business and therefore subject to unforgiving criticism. Those who can balance out determination, creativity, a knack for business and a sense of timing go down in high-fashion history. Not surprisingly perhaps, many of them crave escape and refuge more than anything else. Fashion designers are obviously known for their distinguished style and taste, and this also applies to where they live. The quintessential example is Pierre Cardin’s holiday home, where unique, progressive architecture blends in with the peacefulness of the French countryside.

What do we see when we think of famous fashion designers’ homes? A Parisian apartment, a stately Californian villa, a penthouse overlooking Central Park, or in some cases perhaps all of them. What’s so captivating about Pierre Cardin’s summer home is, similarly to his clothes, not the glitter and bling, but the subtle fusion of simple, fun and occasionally also cheeky.

Clearly, however, the Italian-French designer was not the first to indulge in this kind of fancy hobbies. Already in the 1970s, the French industrialist Pierre Bernard commissioned the Hungarian architect Antti Lovag to design a villa in the small coastal town of Théoule-sur-Mer. Lovag came up with a futuristic project which drew inspiration from space travel and formations literally out of this world. Pallais Bules, or Bubble Palace, brings to mind movies with outworld stations where the aliens would stay. The visionary that he was, Pierre Caridn was also fascinated by progress, which he didn’t hesitate to express in his fashion collections and which probably led him to buy the original residence.

The fashion designer acquired Bubble Palace in 1991, just two years after its completion, and immediately poured his extraordinary flair and style into the interior. Is it easy to arrange an interior devoid of right angles and in which rooms form a maze-like structure? Obviously not! But when your name is a world-class brand, your fortune runs in hundreds of millions dollars and you’ve been gifted with a rocket-powered vision, nothing is impossible.

For that interior design, the famous owner focused on diversity and invited a different artist to design each room, while each piece of furniture was made to order with a specific room in mind. The hillside location of the pink bubble attracts attention, this goes without saying, but thanks to its extensive layout, it isn’t visually imposing. Even then, it offers great views of the local scenery: a lush forest, a bay stretching over the horizon, and the surrounding architecture. Peace and quiet topped off with an enchanting design – this is probably a foolproof recipe for a good holiday rest. And when you need to take the edge off and socialize with other glitterati, you can always invite your guests to an outdoor dinner party at your backyard amphitheater.

Pierre Cardin passed away December 2020 at the age of 98, leaving behind an iconic body of work. Those who are fascinated by the his sense of style and have money to spare can rent the original mansion, throw a party or wedding there, and for a moment feel like one of the greatest fashion designers to have ever lived.

transl. Jakub Majchrzak