2010 is the year Ed Hardy officially dies. I’ve heard a lot from people in the industry that Ed Hardy is ugly and that it’s too busy and so forth. It’s easy to hate on Ed Hardy but the truth is that the aesthetics are not inherently awful. Yes, some of them were and they especially were hideous when the brand sold out and tried to milk the trend as much as it could.

People in the fashion industry hate Ed Hardy and it’s rumored that people who are into tattoos do not wear the brand. But it was a craze, and Christian Audiger made a lot of money it from it. More money than he made from Von Dutch. The fact is that they over sold it, they licensed everything out. Like a pyramid scheme the last to enter will be the big losers.

Being in the industry I know a lot about Ed Hardy that the consumers don’t know. They just see their pieces everywhere and thinks it’s cool. Now they are starting to clue in and the sales of anything Ed Hardy have dropped. The stores to whom I’ve spoken have not ordered anything Ed Hardy for spring and are desperately trying to get rid of the current inventory.

In addition if you look at the new Ed Hardy designs you’ll notice that the style have changed. And the logo has changed too. It is usually not a good sign when a brand changes his style and logo. Very few lines are able to reposition themselves successfully and when you are such a well known brand and is so strongly associated with something it’ll be impossible for you to change.

Whatever happens, though, there is no denying that Christian Augdier is a great marketer.
Check out a photo of myself and him at the Project show, one of the most read post.

From February 12th to the 15th the JUZD team was in Las Vegas checking out North America’s premiere fashion trade shows, MAGIC, POOL, and PROJECT. Despite the predicting US recession the buyers were spending and spending lots. It was a good season for the brands we visited. Above photo (Jing Liu aka me! [lead designer of JUZD Bamboo Streetwear], Masahiko Nakane aka Polo [owner of Panty Japan], Christian Audigier, Yuichi Ishii [buyer for Panty Japan])

Once again Christian Audigier was the talk of the show.With the largest booth at Project, guest stars, naked (but artistically painted) girls, swimsuit models, and a performance by Snoop, Christian Audigier’s booth was the spot to chill. Christian Audigier also premiere his latest label Crystal Rock, named after his daughter.

The colorful Creative Recreation showcased its new sneaker collection and style for Fall. While smaller labels such as Shmack Footwear were making head waves and extending their distribution for the fist time to Japan.

I was able to check out Raw 7. It maintained it’s high end grudge style. It brought its unique style of art to sandals and underwear (which I got samples of woohoo). Another brand that caught my eye was Hard 8, an up and coming brand out of LA. It has simliar grunge style as Raw 7 and strong symbolic designs. What was also great was the overall fit and design of the shirts. It fits and feels really good and the designs was perfect for the shirt.

Pool was also a very interesting experience. It was one big chilling lounge. Lots of cool and funky brands. Alternative Apparel was a major sponsor, they were giving out free t-shirts, hats, and other cool stuff. But one of the most interesting brand is Cyberoptix Tie Lab. They print designs on ties and their creativity and craftmanship are amazing. Had a chance to talk to Bethany who is the principle designer and she’s a really nice girl. It’s not the usual silk suit ties I’m use to.

As for Magic, the big show, it wasn’t all that interesting…to me anyways. Lots of huge brands. As for the streetwear section, it was like night clubs, with girls in skimpy outfits handing out flyers. But that’s the streetwear culture. I prefer the class of Project.

Overall it was a very enlightening trip and I had a lot of fun. We are currently trying to get a booth at the Project show in August. Come check us out!