The three-act ballet Marco Polo: The Last Mission is presented by Pierre Cardin as set and costume designer, and performed by the Shanghai Ballet. [China Daily]

After bringing in the first fashion brand and opening one of the first joint-venture restaurants on the Chinese mainland in the late 1970s and early 80s, French designer Pierre Cardin now takes his magic to the Chinese stage.

The three-act ballet Marco Polo: The Last Mission, presented by Cardin, who is both set and costume designer, and performed by the Shanghai Ballet, premiered at the Shanghai City Theater during the May Day holiday.

It tells the story of how the explorer escorts Princess Cogatra to Persia by sea, on the orders of Emperor Kublai Khan, and falls in love with her.

While the costumes include Chinese, Italian, Indian and Persian styles, "the audience can still find some typical Pierre Cardin elements in the ballet", the designer says.

Accompanying French President Nicolas Sarkozy on his China trip for the Shanghai Expo opening, the 88-year-old Cardin says the ballet is a tribute to the Expo.

His next step is to present an architectural model, Palais Lumiere, or "the palace of light", at the French Pavilion from August.

Designed by him, the 280-meter structure will be powered by solar energy. The silhouette of the eco-friendly building looks like a curve, and brings to mind the geometric shapes in Cardin's clothes.

It's not just beautiful but also functional, boasting more than 100 apartments and 50 elevators. Cardin hopes to have it erected in Paris or Venice in the near future.

He says fashion, stage art, and architecture have something in common. "All these art forms need passion, creativity, and courage, and are universal languages that speak to people of different cultures."

His involvement in the ballet, he says, is a fulfillment of his dreams. "I wanted to be a stage actor when I was young, and I still love stage art very much. Creating costumes for a ballet is like combining fashion and stage art."

As early as in 2008, he created a dance show, Marco Polo: The Imaginary Voyage, to celebrate the Beijing Olympics, which debuted at the National Center for the Performing Arts, before touring major Chinese cities.

As to the strong presence of Marco Polo in his creations, Cardin says he shares many things in common with the explorer.

"Both of us were born in Venice we are both adventurers and have bridged the gap between China and the West," he says.

Cardin introduced his clothing brand to China in 1979, becoming the country's first foreign fashion brand. His Maxim's restaurant, founded in 1983, was the site of the country's first modern fashion show, and a party venue for foreigners and rich Chinese in the 80s and 90s.

But unlike Marco Polo, who encountered pirates, disease and hunger, Cardin's obstacles came from political and cultural differences.

When he came to China in 1979, the country had no notion of fashion.

The first fashion show he held for government officials hit a big snag. He could not find one model anywhere in the whole country.

Finally, a plump secretary he met at the Ministry of Textile Industry (now China National Textile & Apparel Council) attracted his attention. Cardin had to spend hours persuading her before she agreed and later he was surprised to find the girl was actually very shapely. She looked plump only because "she was wearing eight sweaters".

Portrayed as "the good old friend of China" by local media, Cardin says he is glad to see the Chinese become more open-minded, and describes it as the biggest change of the past three decades.