Christian Audigier, the designer best known for his work with Ed Hardy and Von Dutch, has died after a battle with cancer, friend and publicist Michele Elyzabeth said. He was 57.
Elyzabeth said the designer, who died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, had been in and out of the hospital as he received treatment for cancer. He also had myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disease.
The Frenchman worked on several popular fashion lines including Guess, Levi’s, American Outfitters, Diesel and XOXO. But it was Von Dutch and Ed Hardy in the early 2000s that made him famous.
“It is a sad end to a brilliant marketer; his incredible energy and vision brought my artwork to global attention,” said Don Ed Hardy.
Celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Justin Timberlake and Lindsay Lohan helped make his Von Dutch trucker hats popular. His Ed Hardy line became closely associated with reality star Jon Gosselin, which the designer told TMZ he “hated” despite the fact that the pair had earlier been chummy.
Audigier licensed the designs for his two companies from artists Kenny Howard (a.k.a. Von Dutch) and Don Ed Hardy. In 2009, Audigier settled a lawsuit with tattoo artist Hardy, who accused the businessman of not abiding by the terms of their licensing agreement.
Audigier is survived by his wife, a daughter and three sons.
