Italian-born French designer Pierre Cardin has listed his eccentric mansion in France for £300 million (roughly $335.8 million). The 1,200-square-meter complex sits atop of Massif de L'Esterel, a volcanic mountain range known for its red hues.
It is made of 10 giant terracotta-colored "bubbles," and comes with three swimming pools, lush gardens, and a 500-seater amphitheater. The Daily Mail UK calls it "weird and wonderful." The complex has a magnificent view of the Mediterranean Bay and each room is filled with quirky, space-themed interiors.
Hungarian architect Antti Lovag built the complex between 1975 and 1989. According to Curbed, Lovag is known to hate angles and straight lines, hence the bubble-shaped rooms. For him, straight lines are "aggression against nature" and angles "impede our movement and break our harmony."
Pierre Cardin rose to fame for his avant-garde designs in the '40s and '50s. Like Lovag, Cardin is also fond of round forms, which to him are like "the body of a woman." Coincidentally, he created the famous "bubble dress" in 1954, long before buying the bubble mansion in the '90s.
"Round shapes have always inspired me," he said. "This house clinging to the rocky outcrops of the Estérel massif-beyond time, beyond convention-has become a little corner of paradise for me. Something of a gallery of living art, in a state of perpetual motion, the Palais Bulles is for me a constant and powerful image of creativity."
The "Bubble Palace," as Cardin called it, has hosted numerous celebrity parties and fashion shows, including the 2002 MTV party celebrating James Bond's 40th birthday. Pierce Brosnan was one of the guests. Last May, it hosted the Dior 2016 runway show, with hundreds of celebrities in attendance, including Marion Cotillard.
Cardin has been renting out the palace for private holidays, with a price tag of £730 ($1,100) per person per night. To rent the entire place for an event, the cost balloons up to £8,759 ($13,276) per day.
According to The Daily Mail, Cardin has been wanting to sell his label for three years now. In 2009, he sold his textile business in China for £160 million. The 92-year-old bachelor, whose fashion empire ranges from clothes to neck ties, bags, watches, and fabric, remains heirless. He was quoted saying, "I want to sell the entire brand. I know I will not be there in a few years and business must go on."
