Christian Audigier

His unmistakable trademark and charismatic personality make Christian Audigier the man of the moment. But who is this crazy and eccentric French man known as, Le Vif, (the fast one). Christian, in just about two years, has succeeded in taking the fashion industry by storm and making Ed Hardy a household name. This has ultimately led him to becoming the king of the designer T-shirt. He first received national recognition when he put Von Dutch Originals on the map by using the idea of pinstripe designs, which he developed into an international brand. You could not go anywhere without seeing a T-Shirt or trucker hat worn by celebrities or college kids on the streets of LA, Miami, New York or Paris.

His association to Von Dutch lasted a little over 3 years before Audigier, true to his passion for cars and motorcycles, decided to start his own company once he was granted the exclusive rights to work with the designs of tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy. Oddly enough, he repeated his incredible success with the tattoo designs of Don Ed Hardy, the godfather of tattoo. From Britney Spears, who was his very first celebrity client, to Ashton Kutchner, Paris Hilton, Hilary Duff and Justin Timberlake, just to name a few. Christian has created a virtual who’s who of celebrity hipsters wearing, the trucker hats, the jeans and the now infamous Ed Hardy T-shirt.

Audigier, a native from Avignon, France, has an impressive list of credits and accomplishments under his belt. His career started in his early teens when he was discovered by one of the top executives at MacKeen Jeans. Christian had already created a denim collection, greatly influenced by Rock n’ Roll. “My favorite group was the Rolling Stones. It was natural for me to design cool clothes”, says Christian. Although under age, he joined MacKeen shortly thereafter and became a major force in the company. During that time, he traveled all over the globe from Tokyo to Paris to New York, where he was blown away by that incredible city and its grandeur. “I remember thinking to myself, I need to come here and start my own company.” No more than 3 years later, Christian moved to New York, formed his own company and freelanced for the biggest names of the denim industry: Guess, American Outfitters, Fiorucci, Bisou Bisou, Levi’s, XOXO and revamped the Diesel brand. He created a name for himself and became “the King of Jeans”.

Don Hardy

With 40 years of tattooing and legendary status among the tattoo community, Don Ed Hardy is known as "the godfather of modern tattoo", for his sophistication, depth and sense of experimentation. California native Don Ed Hardy is recognized around the world for his technical brilliance and mesmerizing imagery. Don Ed Hardy pulls from life experience to meld American, Japanese, Cholo, tattoo, surf and hotrod iconography. This broad spectrum of taste and experience, coupled with an ongoing investigation of various art histories and a mastery of technique, give his work a unique range and depth.

Don Ed Hardy is a painter, printmaker and tattoo artist. Fascinated by tattoos since childhood, Hardy has become a master of his craft while continuing his work in the more traditional mediums of painting and drawing.

In 2000, he completed a 500 foot long scroll painting of 2000 dragons in honor of the turn of the millennium and the Dragon year. The scroll has been exhibited at Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, the Cuenca Bienal in Ecuador and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco.

Don Ed Hardy curated the exhibition, "Pierced Hearts and True Love", which was shown at The Drawing Center in New York in September 1995 and traveled to several other museums. His work is represented in the collections of The Honolulu Academy of Art, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, The San Francisco Fine Arts Museum Achenbach Collection, and the University of Colorado Fine Art Galleries.