The Story of Ed Hardy Apparel

What do Snoop Dogg and Sylvester Stallone have in common? Unfortunately it’s not a hot new musical collaboration. It’s a brand new line from a hot designer. He doesn’t work for Dolce and Gabbana, Burberry or Chanel, it’s Ed Hardy clothing, a brand new, original line from Christian Audigier.

Don Ed Hardy, legendary tattooist, is the namesake of this unique brand of clothing. His Japanese meets American style of work is idolised around the world, and he is known in many tattoo circles as “The Godfather of Modern Tattoo”.

Christian Audigier saw a fantastic marketing opportunity in Hardy’s tattoos. He approached Hardy in 2004 with a clothing line idea based on his artistic style. Hardy, knowing that Audigier had already designed for the likes of Urban Outfitters, Diesel and Von Dutch, knew that his work would be in good hands, and so granted the licence.

The line swiftly became a hit across the world, but no group embraced Ed Hardy clothing more than Hollywood’s celebrity set. Both Snoop Dogg and Sylvester Stallone are regularly seen wearing the Ed Hardy brand. In fact, both Stallone and Snoop have visited Audigier’s warehouse and his home.

Audigier’s unique style of networking has undoubtedly a big part of why he is so successful in the business. He even has a “celebrity gallery” section on his official site that has literally dozens of pictures of him with the hottest celebs around. It ends up being very lucrative giving away free merchandise to celebrities, as the amount of exposure that they receive is so significant. It is also far cheaper than paying thousands of dollars to have the same celebs star in an ad campaign.

However, this line isn’t only for Hollywood. With tops starting from between $57-$64 it’s actually fairly affordable as far as designer ranges go. It is also good to know that when you buy Ed Hardy clothing you’re buying an item that will stand the test of time, because when a line has been designed around a style of tattooing that has stayed in vogue for decades, it’s hard to imagine it going out of style any time soon.