VEGAS, November, 2003
L.A. Style
Meet the new, groovy Cali designers who are impacting fashion from coast to coast

By Anna David

If you think everyone in Los Angeles is angling to be the next J. Lo, Gwen Stefani, P. Diddy or Hillary Duff, you’re probably right – though it may not be an acting or singing career the masses are after. Perhaps the job most coveted may well be the one that feels as tacked-on to a celebrity’s resume as the requisite J. Lo butt joke: that of designer. And why shouldn’t it? The throngs of young upstarts now clamoring to become the kings and queens of casual wear in Hollywood know that reigning supreme locally usually means setting the standard for how the rest of the nation – not to mention the world – will dress.

Within this community, a handful of impressive folks are beginning to dominate. As well-versed in marketing as they are in hipster culture, these young visionaries have seen enough of yesterday’s cool clothes in today’s sample sale reject pile to know how to differentiate themselves from the pack. Either Los Angeles born or hailing from further away but fully immersed in Hollywood culture, these designers are letting their passions rule their clothing lines.

VON DUTCH
Christian Audigier, the head designer of the ever-more-ubiquitous Von Dutch, surveys the mania that rules his office with wry bemusement and a childlike grin that belies his 45 years. Perched below an enormous sign that reads “Danger – High Voltage – Keep Out,” the rather manic Frenchman bounces from a meeting with his production staff to one with a Von Dutch “sponsee” – extreme fighter Joe Camacho – with the giddy excitement of a rising movie star promoting his first film on a press line. A quiet, longhaired man captures the action on a video camera. “It’s for a documentary we are making on my life,” Audigier offers by way of explaining the cameraman’s omnipresence, his tone suggesting that he’s serious, his smile hinting that he’s not. Trying to clarify the point would probably prove futile.

Prone to exclaiming, “It’s the Von Dutch way!” when confronted with something shocking, triumphant or curious – which occurs several times during an impromptu video viewing of Camacho’s latest fight – Audigier has a bold and impulsive manner that seems right in sync with his line’s audacious label display on all its clothing. (You literally cannot walk five steps in Los Angeles without seeing it everywhere.)

Named after underground hero Kenneth Howard (“Von Dutch” was his nickname) – the first great car paint artist of the 20th century – the line was first started about seven years ago and was, as Audigier puts it, “a small retail store for those kind of greaser-type people, you know?” When CEO Tony Sorenson connected with Audigier in 2001, however, the words “small retail store” vanished along with the greasers.