Ed Hardy

Don Ed Hardy was born in California in 1945 and studied printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute. This artistic training became part of his approach to tattooing as an independent visual art.

In 1973, Hardy studied tattooing in Japan with master Horihide. His recognisable language formed through a combination of Japanese aesthetics and technique with American tradition. In 1982, he released the five-volume Tattootime series, extending discussion of tattoo beyond the studio.

In the early 2000s, Hardy’s work moved into fashion collections. Christian Audigier’s history includes Ed Hardy among the brands through which the designer influenced that decade’s fashion. Fragrance became another carrier of the graphic identity, but each formula requires separate reading.

Love & Luck is structured around citrus, spices, and woods. Its composition lists orange, bergamot, cardamom, cypress, agarwood, cedar, vetiver, musk, and violet. The combination links a bright opening with a drier woody foundation.

Hearts & Daggers for Him was released in 2009. Its notes include pear, basil, martini, pepper, papaya, suede, and woods. Hearts & Daggers for Her presents another side of the line, so related presentation should not be mistaken for the same composition.