Las Vegas Weekly

February 17, 2010 · 4:11 PM

Christian Audigier preps first L.V. store, vows ‘no name, no logo’

By Robin Leach

Christian Audigier.

Photo: Pure Management Group

He’s one of the most revered fashion designers in town for the MAGIC convention, and his designs have been stamped on everything from shirts to jackets to jeans to boots. Now he’s going to make the ultimate fashion statement here this week with the revelation that he’s here to launch a no name, no logo and no brand line. One of the flashiest men on the planet is going flash free!

No photos of the line selling from $32 to $92 will be available until next week, but Christian Audigier is confident you will recognize that it’s the same guy from his six other lines that include Ed Hardy, Crystal Rock, CA and Von Dutch. In fact, the line will be called The Same Guy. (Editor’s note: His trademark is all lowercase). Fashion VIPs get their first look tonight at Eva Longoria Parker’s Eve the Nightclub in MGM CityCenter’s Crystals.

With the normal eye-popping embellishments and his cacophony of colors now reserved for his other lines, I asked Christian how anybody would know it was him, and he said that there will be one small identifying mark on each product: an American flag inside a star that’s as small as his thumbprint on the outside left of the garment. I’m predicting that it will be the ultimate fashion statement and the height of fashion sophistication!

Photo: Pure Management Group

A couple of heavyweights: former champ Mike Tyson and Christian Audigier.

He told me in a one-on-one chat yesterday at MAGIC: “It is absolutely logo and graphic free. It is just clean and plain for these challenging economic times. The idea is whether I use the flamboyant designs on Ed Hardy, I am always the same guy. The new line is all about the fabrics and the washes and treatments on each. The collection is great to see, but I cannot always stay fabulous flamboyance, so I went to minimalist design this time. It has beautiful fabric, beautiful fit for body styles and great colors, and I believe my fans will still go with me as followers.

“This time around, the trademark is not of my colors or designs but simply The Same Guy. That is a fun name to describe me. I believe that will be known as the new mark. The quality is great, and we are using really good unique fabrics. I am producing these new fabrics in America, and they are very good quality, very soft, you know? The coloration is why I put a lot of concentration on the fabric. It’s all about the softness and quality, simplicity and comfort.”

Christian also told me that he’s opening his first retail store in Las Vegas in two months at The Forum Shops in Caesars Palace. It will carry his Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier lines. The first The Same Guy lines will open in 20 standalone Classic American stores, first in Los Angeles one month from today and New York two months from today. Depending on their success, he’ll look for a Las Vegas outlet in next fall’s fashion season.

Photo: Los Angeles Times

Christian Audigier.

“Each of the six lines represents a different facet of who I am and how I design,” he continued. “But Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier are still the same guy, so the real me is the man who wears clothes like your very own favorite pair of jeans that you live in constantly. People always complained that I don’t wear their clothes, so that is why this new line is just comfortable and plain because it’s the real me all the time unless I am out and about.”

I asked the French designer if he’d ever slow down: “I feel MAGIC in Las Vegas this year is definitely bigger and better. I see the customers less concerned about the economy today, you know? So that is a very good sign. So I never never slow down. I still have lots of ideas in my mind, and I have a young staff with me. So, they have new, fresh ideas. I like to look at everything before they hit the streets, you know? I am always looking at the future. I believe that the Americans are the best for the future of fashion in America, so a lot of companies are coming out of Los Angeles and New York. Today, I really believe that America is the trendsetter in the world. I look forward to many years in the American fashion industry -- forever!”

Christian said that he is meeting with new Treasure Island executives today about his nightclub there (Phil Ruffin bought the hotel from MGM last year). “We hope to keep the club there, but I don’t know. It all depends. I would love to talk to these people to see what they have in mind. We’ll know after the meetings.

Photo: Kirvin Doak Communications

Christian Audigier the Nightclub at Treasure Island.

“I love everything about Las Vegas. A person can get everything here at any time. I see this movie The Hangover, and I understand Vegas. I get my inspiration from the excitement of Vegas for everything I do. I see people in the casino with those rhinestone vests and stuff, and always to be honest it gives me my own rhinestone creations!

“I love Las Vegas. We’ll be very much here with everything that has my name on it -- and now just The Same Guy that doesn’t.”

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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