The Evolution of the Ed Hardy Brand
What do Madonna and Britney Spears have in common? Unfortunately there isn’t another gay scandal in Hollywood, but there is a fashion one. In the past few years a brand new line has been coveted by these celebrities and many others. It isn’t a new line from Burberry, Fendi, or Gucci. It’s a brand new line by Christian Audigier, and that line is Ed Hardy clothing.
Ed Hardy clothing was inspired by the man who also gave the line its name, the legendary tattoo artist, Don Ed Hardy. Known as “the godfather of modern tattoo” in many tattoo circles, Hardy’s blend of Japanese and American styles is highly sought after around the world.
In 2004, Christian Audigier approached Don Ed Hardy with an idea for a new clothing line based on his style of tattooing. Hardy agreed to the idea, knowing that Audigier had previously designed lines for brands such as Urban Outfitters, Diesel and Von Dutch. If anyone could bring his tattoos to life in a clothing line, then it was Audigier.
Ed Hardy clothing quickly became a sensation across the world, but nobody took to the new range more than Hollywood’s celebrity elite. Madonna wears Ed Hardy caps and t-shirts almost daily, and Britney Spears was recently filmed raiding the designer’s massive California warehouse.
The reason for this success is Audigier’s unique marketing style. He networks more than any other designer in order to get clients to wear his clothes as often as possible. When you consider how often some of these celebrities are photographed, it ends up being a very lucrative way of advertising. Giving away free merchandise is far cheaper than forking out hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to use the same celebrities in ad campaigns. In fact, the official site of the brand has a “Celebrity Gallery” section which is a selection of pictures of Audigier with his various celebrity clients.
The line is, however, not just for celebrities. As designer ranges go it is fairly reasonably priced, with girl’s t-shirts starting from $62 and men’s from $57. It is also worth noting that the whole range is based on a tattoo style that has endured for decades, so you can buy the clothes knowing that the Ed Hardy range will not be going out of fashion any time soon.
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