Chance of the calendar, the journalist Elise Chassaing was wrapping up her documentary "Pierre Cardin, the factory of the future" when she learned Tuesday of the death of the couturier.

Invited by "Culture Media", she explains the difficulties in investigating Pierre Cadrin, before the broadcast of her documentary on Sunday morning on Paris Première.

There are the big names in couture obsessed with their house archives and the legacy they will leave behind.

And there is Pierre Cardin.

Tuesday, we learned of the death of the 98-year-old couturier.

At the same time, Elise Chassaing was about to complete her documentary 

Pierre Cardin, the factory of the future

.

The journalist explains at the microphone of Pascale Clark, Wednesday in 

Culture Médias

how she managed to work on the life of this couturier who, in her words, "did not give a damn about what he was going to leave" behind him.

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In her documentary, the journalist does not directly question Pierre Cardin, already very old at the time of filming.

But she needed access to her relatives and to the archives of the fashion house.

Which was not easy.

"At first, it was a bit difficult," admits Elise Chassaing.

"La Maison Cardin was not particularly keen on making a film about them."

Unpublished archives

It was therefore necessary to show perseverance.

"We have multiplied the meetings and lunches with Jean-Pascal Hesse, the communications director of Pierre Cardin, who was ultimately of invaluable help", explains the journalist.

"We had to show a white paw."

The fashion house finally opens its archives.

But here again, the Cardin house stands out.

The archives of French fashion houses are often kept like those of major museums and give rise to regular exhibitions.

"Pierre Cardin's archives are quite incredible because they have never really been classified," the journalist is surprised.

"So we were able to go and dig like that in the drawers and digitize images that had never been shown."

To discover these unpublished documents and the testimonies of those close to the visionary couturier, the documentary 

Pierre Cardin, la fabrique du futur

is broadcast on Sunday January 3, 2021, at 10:30 am on Paris Première.