Ed Hardy Handbags, 2009

An official summer collection has not surfaced yet for Christian Audigier’s latest line, but Ed Hardy has been and continues to be a hot commodity in 2008 and 2009. From teens to twenty-something club kids to A-list celebrities, the Ed Hardy line is everywhere, much like Audigier’s last high profile line, Von Dutch (trucker hats, anyone?), from a few years ago. So, what makes this line so special that it even has its own imitators in the knockoff market?

It’s the tattoo, style, really, that seems to have caught on so much that even Coach is imitating it for this summer’s collection. The most basic Ed Hardy handbag designs – as well as the rest of the clothing in this line – consist of a solid color field with one of these large, somewhat airbrushed style tattoo designs dominating the surface. The tattoos themselves are basic tattoo designs – skulls and roses of many shades but no “Mother,” hearts with arrows, or girlfriends’ names. These tattoos are then embellished with rhinestones or metal studs on both handbags and clothing for men and women. To state the obvious, when compared to even the flashiest designer handbags, these Ed Hardy bags are different. Gaudiness aside, the bags have a punkish style for the designer crowd, safety pins not included, and have a name attached. Although not on the same nadir as designer flannel and ripped jeans from the early ‘90s, these handbags are, in a sense, the designer version of rebellious, youthful style.

But, really, much like the Von Dutch line, the tattoo patterns on Ed Hardy bags and clothing are confined to a narrow scope and what is a hot commodity now will soon be replaced by something as equally high priced and pseudo-rebellious. To move to the next level and keep these styles relevant for the next few years, it appears that on bags for 2009, the color factor has been upped a few levels on women’s handbags. No longer are the familiar tattoo patterns on a field of black or white but, instead, sit on a field of yellow, lavender, or aqua marine and almost blend into the colored field. The tattoo drawings, themselves, have also been altered for women’s designs, with other options including tattoo women drawings and red and yellow swimming koi fish.

No doubt Ed Hardy will disappear in a few years, in the same way as fashionable flannel, trucker hats, and clear cola have all passed, and Audigier will start another line. But, if these handbags are your thing – and, as said earlier, they are on everyone these days – relish in the fashion moment with these new candy-colored designs.