PARIS, Nov 29, 2009 (AFP) - French fashion legend Pierre Cardin was briefly hospitalised Sunday 29 November after being taken ill in a Paris airport departure lounge, his office said.

Pierre Cardin - Photo: AFP/File/Anne-Christine Poujoulat

The 87-year-old was about to board a plane for Greece -- where he is putting on a show -- when he suffered a minor "vasovagal episode," it said, referring to a condition marked by a slow pulse and a fall in blood pressure

He was taken by ambulance to the American Hospital in the Paris suburbs where he was examined and quickly discharged.

High blood pressure led to a two-day hospital stay for Cardin in May. He was also briefly hospitalised this year for a fracture of his shoulder-blade after falling on stairs.

Cardin, who set up his couture house in 1949, was last year ranked 71st on a list of France's wealthiest people released by Challenges magazine, with an estimated wealth of 500 million euros.