Auction House Selling Items From Fashion Designer Christian Audigier’s Estate
Christian Audigier, the flamboyant sometimes outrageous character who helmed the Ed Hardy and Von Dutch fashion labels, was just 57 when he passed away from cancer seven years ago in Los Angeles. But he left a tattoo-inked trucker hat, graphic T-shirt and embellished denim legacy on L.A. fashion. And now, his personal and diverse collection of art, furniture, books and clothing have been consolidated and are being auctioned off by Abell Auction Co.
“We had to sift through a lot of his things to tell a story,” said Todd Schireson, vice president of the L.A. auction house.
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One of the most prized items in the catalogue is a personalized Bobber motorcycle designed by legendary Yoshinobu “Yoshi” Kosaka, who has an L.A.-area bike shop called The Garage Company. “The motorcycle has a certain look to it,” Schireson said. “Someone will appreciate the motorcycle for the bike itself or someone will buy it who appreciates Christian Audigier and will want to keep it.”
Schireson believes the Bobber motorcycle originally cost $100,000 to custom design and paint with Audigier’s name prominently displayed.
Other important works include a large collection of Mr. Brainwash (Thierry Guetta) paintings and numbered prints including images of David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and others. There are also numbered lithographs and prints by contemporary street artist Shepard Fairey.
Audigier, who was born in France, was a great friend and fan of French rock ‘n roll star Johnny Hallyday and collected some of his personal items, including a metal-studded leather jacket now mounted in an acrylic case.
The French designer, who was said to have been working with Michael Jackson on a clothing and accessory line, had a prototype of a Jackson-inspired sequined and crystal glove framed in a shadow box frame.
There are also designer clothing and shoes by Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tom Ford, Salvatore Ferragamo and Dolce & Gabbana.
Schireson believes the collection will fetch between $250,000 to $500,000.
“Christian selected every item with exceptional care and passion and had a quintessential eye for fashion and design,” said Vincent Audigier, the executor of his late uncle’s estate, in a statement. “Nothing was random.”
Audigier worked with a lot of blue-jeans companies before arriving in L.A., where he began working with the Von Dutch label. He took that brand to new heights by teaming with celebrities such as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, who were often seen sporting the popular mesh-backed Von Dutch trucker hats in the early Aughts.
The French designer left Von Dutch in 2004 to start the Ed Hardy label, which took images by San Francisco tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy and incorporated them to various categories, including T-shirts, dresses, purses, jackets, swimsuits, shoes and even a vodka label.
Audigier sold Ed Hardy to Iconix Brand Group in 2011 for $62 million.
The Audigier auction will take place online May 12 to 13. A complete catalogue of the collection will be viewable at www.abell.com on April 29.
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