Ed Hardy & Von Dutch Designer Christian Audigier Dead at 57

Christian Audigier, the French designer best known for building up the Ed Hardy brand, has sadly died at the age of 57 following a battle with cancer. ...more pics and video after cut...

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                                  Kim Kardashian wearing Christian Audigier Fall 2007
In April, he revealed that he had been battling a form of cancer known as MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome). Diagnosed in January, Audigier was said to be “doing much better” following a bone marrow transplant, but he was reportedly admitted to Cedars-Sinai soon thereafter and slipped into a coma. His longtime publicist Michele Elyzabeth told LATF USA: “I just heard the news and I am truly devastated. Christian was an incredibly brilliant man. He will be missed.” He is survived by his daughter and two sons.
Audigier dropped out of school at 14 to toil at the Jean Machine shop in the South of France. He went onto design his own line on the side that was inspired by the Rolling Stones, which was subsequently discovered by a fashion executive, who is credited for helping the budding designer’s precipitous rise.

In his twenties, Audigier relocated to New York and worked with brands including Guess, Levis, Diesel, American Outfitters, Fiourucii, Bisou Bisou and XOXO. But he really made a name for himself when he partnered with Kenneth Howard, the owner of Von Dutch, popularizing the trucker hats seen on the heads of Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Ashton Kutcher, Jay Z and more.

It could be said that Audigier was one of the first designers to put celebrities who used the paparazzi, and thus, media outlets like People and Us Weekly, to catapult his brand, making the photographed items the ones to covet.
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