Ed Hardy Clothing
In the Twentieth Century, tattoos and the work of people like Sailor Jerry revolutionized pop-culture and ink. One of such visionaries is Ed Hardy, "The Godfather of Tattoos."
In hundreds of ways, Ed Hardy has left his mark, quite literally, on the world and its people. Since the late 1960's, Hardy has been inking men and women and perfecting his unique art.
He studied in Japan during the early seventies, and prior to that, he mentored under the legendary Sailor Jerry. Since 1974, he's worked, through his studio,
Tattoo City, in San Francisco, to make a respected art out of tattooing, blending the low-brow traditions of tattoos and the hi-brow sensibilities of other art mediums. Ed Hardy has succeeded in building a world renowned reputation through his work, art and his writing in Tattootime, and in so doing , he earned an honorary doctorate from the San Francisco Art Institute, as well as a little attention from an equally famous designer, Christian Audigier, who had previously designed for and brought success to Von Dutch.
Love it or hate it, Audigier deserves the credit for almost single-handedly making the trucker hat cool. Through the Ed Hardy line, Audigier melds together high fashion and street couture in much the same way that Ed Hardy hopes to bring tattoo art into the high-culture world.
Something very postmodern happens when you look at the ironic Ed Hardy fashion hanging on a Nordstrom's rack. Embroidered classic tattoo culture images graffiti pockets of Ed Hardy jeans.
Screen prints of skulls, swallows, roses, etc. flash across hoodies, tee shirts, shoes and belts. Authentic Ed Hardy merchandise is sought after by the rich and the famous. All this from an artist, whose genre, just fifty years ago, was for sailors, criminals, prostitutes and pimps. I love it. In addition to crossing lines of class (i.e. putting tattoo art in Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom's), the Ed Hardy line crosses cultures.
Everyone and their brother is wearing Ed Hardy clothes. The "hip hop hoodie," the bright graphic hoodies prevalent in the hip hop scene, is most certainly represented in the line as well as goth clothing styles. In fact, the Ed Hardy line is so popular, that often you can find authentic pieces, especially discontinued items, discounted at various web stores, like eBay.
