Same Christian Audigier, new bling-free line

Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010 | 6:14 p.m.

The same Christian Audigier: Introducing new bling-free line

Just the name Christian Audigier evokes the image of an elaborate Ed Hardy tattoo design with lots of rhinestone bling draped over the overly tanned and muscled frame of a Vegas party boy. Believe it or not, the famous reviled and revered French designer soon will be bringing a logo- and graphic-free line to stores near you.

Audigier's new line is named The Same Guy in a wink at his critics and it's debuting at the MAGIC tradeshow this week in Las Vegas. The Same Guy will be a distinct departure from the flashy designs of his Ed Hardy and Von Dutch lines. Featuring soft fabrics from Peru, the new shirts are intended to be the embodiment of comfort and simplicity. Simple Audigier? Weekly talked to the man himself about The Same Guy, the Vegas origins of his blinged-out clothing and the future of his Treasure Island nightclub.

How did you first come to start using rhinestone embellishments on your clothing?

I was in Las Vegas, and it was my first party at the Palms. I see a guy from Australia and he's got a very strange T-shirt with rhinestones on, and I told him I wanted to buy his shirt. He told me, "It's not for sale, sir." I said I would give $100, $200 and I ended up buying the shirt for $1,000. So I bought the T-shirt from the guy and I never saw the guy again, but he made me a fortune. This is the way I started putting rhinestones on my T-shirts. I decided that was going to be the next trend. That was about five years ago.

How do you combat the critics who call your clothing "shiny shirts" and other less-than-favorable names?

That's exactly what I design, and today I cannot complain. People love it. The shiny, the bling bling, there's millions of people wearing it. I believe it's the style; it's my style.

Can you tell me how you are expanding your collection with your new The Same Guy line?

That's going to be just plain shirts with no logo on it. The fabric will be a very good quality with a very good wash and a lot of beautiful colors, too. It will be a lot of fabric from Peru, and I will produce all of my T-shirts in Los Angeles.

How did you partner up with tattoo artist Ed Hardy?

I was looking for a tattoo artist and I saw the name Don Ed Hardy on Google. I looked through his artwork and invited him to come visit me, and he came with a lot of archives of his tattoo work. So I decided to do the deal with him, and that is how we got started.

I know you love his bright and colorful designs for your clothing, but do you have any tattoos by Ed Hardy?

Oh, I have a lot of tattoos. None by him yet. He's in San Francisco, so he's far away, but we're going to do one together one day, I am sure.

What is the future of your nightclub at Treasure Island?

I'm not sure actually. As you know, the owner of Treasure Island changed, so we're supposed to close this club by contract. We don't know what is going to be the future yet. We are always looking and waiting for people coming to us. We absolutely want to keep it in Las Vegas.

— Originally published on LasVegasWeekly.com