Christian Audigier, the French fashion designer whose Ed Hardy fashion line was virtually inescapable throughout the early-to-mid ’00s, has died. Audigier had been battling a form of bone cancer known as Myelodysplastic Syndrome. He was 57.
Audigier, reportedly known by the nickname of “Le Vif (The Fast One),” worked for a number of fashion houses, including Guess, Levi’s, Diesel, American Outfitters, Bisou Bisou, and XOXO, before moving to Los Angeles, where he helped popularize the Von Dutch brand among late early-’00s tastemakers like Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. He then took his uniquely spangled design sensibility to Ed Hardy, creating one of the signature looks of the era by licensing the tattoo artist’s designs and putting a bunch of rhinestones on them. Frequently criticized as the epitome of vapid L.A. fashion sensibilities, Ed Hardy was nevertheless phenomenally successful, and Audigier had an estimated net worth of $250 million at the time of his death. He is survived by his daughter, Crystal Audigier.