Ed Hardy designer Christian Audigier dies at 57

LOS ANGELES — Fashion designer Christian Audigier, who was born in France but gained fame and fortune in the United States with his tattoo-inspired, street-wise designs for the Ed Hardy and Von Dutch brands, died Friday. He was 57. Audigier died at 3:45 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Laura Coverson said. Audigier had cancer, said his former publicist, Michele Elyzabeth, who first reported the death on her LATF style website. Besides his colorful designs, the designer was known for his energetic promotion and for friendships with celebrities, including Michael Jackson, Madonna and the French singer Johnny Hallyday. “My friend forever,” Hallyday tweeted on Friday, in French. “I will miss you terribly. I love you.” Audigier was born in Avignon, France, and began working in fashion as early as age 14, Elyzabeth said. He moved to New York as a young man, where he worked for a number of labels. But it was in Los Angeles where he achieved fame, first as a designer for Von Dutch, and then for the Ed Hardy brand, where Audigier’s clothing played off the colorful designs of tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy. — AP