The word “French” coupled with “designer” usually conjures up visions of Paris, red carpets and haute couture. Christian Audigier, however, defied the stereotype. Flamboyant and brash, he tattooed the words “Christian Audigier Est 1958 (the year of his birth)” to his back, and popularised a “white trash” style associated with tattoos and truckers. He designed T-shirts studded with rhinestones and emblazoned with skulls, and sold trucker caps for $100 a pop.
He dubbed the look “sexpensive”, and his genius was to persuade the stars of Hollywood to wear it, including the likes of Madonna, Mariah Carey and Britney Spears. Rihanna did “50 per cent” of his marketing, he claimed. Certainly when Madonna was photographed adopting an orphan in Malawi while wearing a T-shirt from the