Pierre Hardy (born 1 February 1956) is a French fashion designer who specializes in luxury footwear. Hardy is known for designing high-end women's shoes and men's sneakers.

Early life and education

Hardy was born in Paris. His mother was a ballet instructor and his father taught athletics. He pursued a teaching degree in plastic arts and taught at art schools, includings at his alma mater

École Duperré The Duperré School of Applied Arts is a public college of art and design. The school is located in the Rue Dupetit-Thouars, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, near the Carreau du Temple, in the heart of Le Marais. Duperré School trains stude ...

in Paris.Alexandra Marshall (9 February 2017)
Pierre Hardy’s Black-and-White Parisian Pad
''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''. After graduation, he joined a modern dance troupe and drew illustrations for European fashion magazines such as ''

Vanity Fair Italia ''Vanity Fair'' is an American monthly magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast in the United States. The first version of ''Vanity Fair'' was published from 1913 to 1936. The imprint was revived in ...

'' and ''Vogue Hommes''.

Career in design

In 1987, Hardy took a position styling shoes at

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...

. From 1990 until 1999, Hardy worked under Claude Brouet at

Hermès Hermès International S.A. ( , ) is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, silk goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the ...

, where he was responsible for men's and women's shoes. At Hermès, he created classics that include the Oran sandal in 1997. For the spring/summer 1998 collection, he developed the Quick trainer, making Hermès the first luxury brand to design a trainer made entirely of leather. In 2001, Hermès added jewelry to his responsibilities. In 1999, Hardy launched his eponymous brand, Pierre Hardy. Within a year, he sold 5,000 pairs to stores like

Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus is an American department store chain founded in 1907 in Dallas, Texas by Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband Abraham Lincoln Neiman. It has been owned by Saks Global, a Corporate spin-off, spin-o ...

and

Barneys New York Barneys New York is an American brand founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman that operated full-line department stores from 1923 until 2020. Authentic Brands Group acquired Barneys' intellectual property in 2019, and has licensed the brand to Saks F ...

. Today the brand sells luxury shoe and fashion accessories for men and women. In 2016, he sold a minority stake of his company to Hermès. From 2001, Hardy also oversaw women's shoes for

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( , , ) is a Spanish Basque luxury fashion house currently headquartered in Paris. It designs, manufactures and markets ready-to-wear footwear, handbags, and accessories, and licenses its name and branding to the American cosmeti ...

, under the leadership of

Nicolas Ghesquière Nicolas Ghesquière (; born 9 May 1971) is a French-Belgian fashion designer who has been the women's creative director of the house of Louis Vuitton (owned by LVMH) since 2013. Early life Ghesquière was born in Comines, Nord, the younger of ...

. He left Balenciaga when Ghesquière did, in 2012. He also collaborated with the

Gap Inc. The Gap, Inc., commonly known as Gap Inc., is an American multinational clothing and accessories retailer. Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company operates fou ...

in 2011, and with the makeup brand

NARS Cosmetics NARS Cosmetics is a French cosmetics and skin care company founded by make-up artist and photographer François Nars in 1994. The cosmetics line began with twelve lipsticks sold at Barneys New York. Since then, NARS has created various multi-use ...

in 2013.

Recognition

In 2016, Hardy was awarded with the Chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Personal life

Hardy was in a seven-year relationship with

Cathy Horyn Cathy Horyn (born September 11, 1956) is an American fashion critic and journalist who worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1998 until 2014 where she had the highly noted and provocative blo''On The Runway'' In 2015, she was appointed critic- ...

(28 August 2005)
How Nicolas Got His Groove Back
'' T: The New York Times Style Magazine''. He is married to Christopher Turnier.

Stores

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Pierre 1956 births Living people Businesspeople from Paris French brands French fashion designers LGBTQ fashion designers Luxury brands Shoe designers Shoemakers