Christian Audigier, the designer that made tattoo art fashionable, has lost his battle to cancer, passing away at the age of 57, TMZ reported.
"I just heard the news and I am truly devastated," Michele Elyzabeth, Audigier's long-time publicist, told LATF USA. "Christian was an incredibly brilliant man. He will be missed."
The man behind the Von Dutch and Ed Hardy lines was diagnosed in January of this year with MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome), a rare form of cancer that affects the bone marrow. It's the same disease that "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts battled with after being diagnosed three years ago.
Audigier started chemotherapy to treat his disease and then received a bone marrow transplant in March. The transplant was successful, and he maintained checkups two to three times a week at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was reportedly doing much better at the time, according to TMZ.
However, his health took a turn for the worse recently. Audigier was readmitted to Cedars-Sinai where he slipped into a coma, a source told LATF.
The French-born fashion mogul's empire started when he began working with Von Dutch, catapulting the brand's popularity in the early 2000s, the Daily Mail reported. The most famous piece from the Von Dutch line was a trucker hat bearing the brand's logo on the front, and celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Nicole Richie and Justin Timberlake were all fans of the line.
Audigier's own project, Ed Hardy, was created by printing tattoo artist Ed Hardy's designs on T-shirts, sweatshirts and handbags. The Ed Hardy brand was worn by celebrities and fashionistas alike, and it packaged tattoo culture's edginess for the masses.
Other brands Audigier worked with during his career include Guess, Levis, Diesel and Bisou Bisou after moving to New York City, according to The Mirror. Audigier left behind a $250 million fashion empire and is survived by his three children.
