In 1964, Francine Crescent who was then accesories editor at Vogue Paris was asked by Roland Jourdan to suggest a photographer to shoot his campaign. She suggested Bourdin. The first pictures were a shock and people wrote to Roland saying how awful the campaign was. She told him he could always change photographers because he was not married to Bourdin. But he stuck with Bourdin who insisted on total control, never refusing any of his pictures.

He worked for Charles Jourdan until 1981 when they were bought out by a Swiss company and Roland Jourdan left and formed his own company. Bourdin then worked with him for his new company, Roland Pierre between 1982-84.

Meanwhile his tradition was credibly upheld at Charles Jourdan by Uwe Ommer but by 1985 their advertising had deteriorated to a hand holding a a red shoe and handbag infront of a white background. When I saw them around this time. I was told that people did not want that sort of fantasy anymore, maybe they had researched this but I was left feeling that the Bourdin type of fantasy was much preferrable to nondescript advertising.