Published in : Fashion, General

Ed launched his career in tattoo art as early as 1967 at the age of 10, he had opened a tattoo workshop at his house and served the neighborhood kids.

If you trace back, what won Don Ed Hardy so many accolades is his sense of sophistication, and willingness to experiment; the feather in his cap, the reward Godfather of Modern Tattoo owes lots to this quality. During this time Christian Audigier was serving Nervous Tattoo as the CEO and designing fashion staple for Von Dutch. We may be abundant of tattoo-based beauty and fashion accessories that are hugely popular but much of this was taking shape in Audigier’s mind following his calling it quits with Von Dutch.

In fact, the popularity of tattoos was growing leaps and bounds so much that the stigma attached to it was loosening and all and sundry was rushing to have them on their sleeves. Apart from stigma, the fear of getting up and sitting for hours, getting the ink done had given way to euphoric demands. It’s wonderful to track back how the world began loving Ed’s tattoo bearing garments.

Ed Hardy designs have enthused the fashion world so much that there are 12 exclusive showrooms around the globe. Now Ed Hardy is highly recognized and is conferred with an Honorary Doctorate in recognition of his contributions. Ed has now entered every sphere of fashion spanning from shoes to perfumes aside of clothes and handbags. It is hard to miss out on the hard work of Christian Audigier and his legendary vision with which he introduced Ed to the world where Ed could reach out to millions of his audience without even meeting them personally, unlike his tattoo profession.

Oddly, some discredit Christian Audigier as a fool, but keep in mind he is there where glamour reaches its zenith. He is the one zealous designer and a businessman par excellence rolled into one. Being raised in California and having imbibed French culture Christian Audigier is acclaimed for his contemporary designs, right from street-wear to upscale fashion. In addition to being imaginative, Audigier must be credited for his business acumen that brought out the original Californian style within to the masses, first with Von Dutch and then with Ed Hardy. Christian now has a brand in his own name.

It is interesting to follow every move of Christian Audigier and his latest fad is nightlife business. He launched a nightclub, Treasure Island, recently where the Vegas Late nightclub Tangerine was. Michael Jackson’s expression of interest in launching a line of clothing with Christian Audigier goes a long way to prove the command the duo has over contemporary fashion. On a lighter side, the French maverick, Audigier, is also mad over bikes.