Christian Audigier, the Genius Behind the Dreaded Ed Hardy, Has Died

Christian Audigier, the man who in the mid-2000s dressed an astonishing number of people in fake tattoo-and-rhinestone t-shirts, died this week in Los Angeles at the age of 57, reports LATF. In January, he had been diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, also referred to as “bone marrow failure disorder.” He leaves a daughter, Crystal Audigier, 22.

The French designer was best known for the runaway success of his labels Ed Hardy and Von Dutch, but also had worked with labels like Guess, Levi’s, and Diesel, among others. In 2011, he sold Ed Hardy for $62 million. His publicist, Michele Elyzabeth, told LATF, “I just heard the news and I am truly devastated. Christian was an incredibly brilliant man. He will be missed.”

Peak Ed Hardy, Fall 2007 runway.

Though Ed Hardy was controversial among the fashion set, thought garish with its tattoos-and-skulls T-shirt aesthetic, there’s no denying it was an iconic brand that defined a big chunk of the mid-2000s after it launched in 2004. Audigier both dressed and counted as friends many celebrities—from 50 Cent, who performed at his 2009 birthday party, to Kim Kardashian, who walked his runway in 2007.