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What do Madonna and Britney Spears have in common? Unfortunately there isn’t another gay scandal in Hollywood, but there is a fashion one. In the past few years a brand new line has been coveted by these celebrities and many others. It isn’t a new line from Burberry, Fendi, or Gucci. It’s a brand new line by Christian Audigier, and that line is Ed Hardy clothing.

Ed Hardy clothing was inspired by the man who also gave the line its name, the legendary tattoo artist, Don Ed Hardy. Known as “the godfather of modern tattoo” in many tattoo circles, Hardy’s blend of Japanese and American styles is highly sought after around the world.

Christian Audigier saw a fantastic marketing opportunity in Hardy’s tattoos. He approached Hardy in 2004 with a clothing line idea based on his artistic style. Hardy, knowing that Audigier had already designed for the likes of Urban Outfitters, Diesel and Von Dutch, knew that his work would be in good hands, and so granted the licence.

The line swiftly became a hit across the world, but no group embraced Ed Hardy clothing more than Hollywood’s celebrity set. Both Snoop Dogg and Sylvester Stallone are regularly seen wearing the Ed Hardy brand. In fact, both Stallone and Snoop have visited Audigier’s warehouse and his home.

The reason for this success is Audigier’s unique marketing style. He networks more than any other designer in order to get clients to wear his clothes as often as possible. When you consider how often some of these celebrities are photographed, it ends up being a very lucrative way of advertising. Giving away free merchandise is far cheaper than forking out hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to use the same celebrities in ad campaigns. In fact, the official site of the brand has a “Celebrity Gallery” section which is a selection of pictures of Audigier with his various celebrity clients.

The line is, however, not just for celebrities. As designer ranges go it is fairly reasonably priced, with girl’s t-shirts starting from $62 and men’s from $57. It is also worth noting that the whole range is based on a tattoo style that has endured for decades, so you can buy the clothes knowing that the Ed Hardy range will not be going out of fashion any time soon.