More Information
about Von Dutch
Hats off to Von Dutch
Booth Moore
Los Angeles Times
When Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie tried working as Arkansas milkmaids in
an episode of their reality show "The Simple Life," things
ended badly, with the pair soaked in spilled milk. But their orange camouflage
Von Dutch truckers' caps made an impression. Within hours, the hats were
selling on ebay for three times their retail value
The Von Dutch brand, named for a seminal
L.A. car customizer, has hit critical mass.
While coastal-dwelling trendsetters
have been wearing the loopy script logo for months,
it seems to be infiltrating states where truckers'
hats are actually worn by truckers.
"We're watching the brand hit
mainstream," said Marshal Cohen, a fashion and
retail analyst for the market research firm NPD Group.
Celebrity paparazzi shots are published so many times
that "until the next trend," he said, "Von
Dutch will stay in consumers' minds."
The hats are made in a variety of
fabrics, including terrycloth, velvet, leather, denim
and faux Dalmatian fur. Each design is limited to
a run of 1,000, which helps fuel demand (the Beanie
Baby factor). On ebay last year, more than 20 Von
Dutch hats sold for $900-plus.
But just because people are wearing
the stuff doesn't mean they know a Von Dutch from
a Von Trapp. "I bought a sweatshirt for my niece
in Boston, so when she watches 'The Simple Life'
and sees Paris Hilton wearing Von Dutch, she can
feel cool," said Thomas Kostigen, 37, a writer-producer
who was shopping recently at the new Von Dutch store
on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif.
He confessed he had no inkling of who or what Von
Dutch was.
He's not alone.
Von Dutch, whose real name was Kenny
Howard, was a father of the 1960s "kustom car" craze.
Howard, who was raised in Maywood, Calif., and died
at 63 in 1992, virtually invented the freestyle pin-striping
and painted flames that became the signature of the
uniquely Southern California car subculture. His
family nickname was "Dutch" -- given to
him early on by relatives who found him "as
stubborn as a Dutchman," according to a book
published by the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach,
Calif., in connection with its 1993 exhibit "Kustom
Kulture."
As a teenager, he developed the logo
that he used all his life -- a bloodshot winged eyeball,
which now adorns most Von Dutch merchandise.
In the 1950s, he became well known
for his custom paint jobs; people came from all over
the country to have their cars and motorcycles "Dutched," according
to Bob Burns, a longtime friend and collaborator
who now owns a sign-painting shop in Prescott, Ariz.
Just think how great it would be to have a Von Dutch
Motorcycle.
According to the Laguna Art Museum
book, Von Dutch earned rebel mystique by traveling
in a 1954 bus equipped with a complete machine shop,
supporting himself by restoring motorcycles and building
strange vehicles from scratch.
Burns said that Von Dutch disappeared
for part of the 1960s because his fame was so unsettling. "He
never liked being the object of attention. He was
into his work. . . He shied away from people and
money."
Still, he did some memorable work:
For the 1969 Steve McQueen movie "The Reivers," he
built the memorable yellow Winton Flyer.
From 1970 to 1979, Burns said, Von
Dutch parked his bus behind a Buena Park, Calif.,
museum called Movie World, Cars of the Stars and
Planes of Fame. The museum featured customized cars
and hot rods, many of them used in movies or TV,
embellished by such car customizers as George Barris.
After the museum closed, Von Dutch
moved his bus to a Santa Paula, Calif., warehouse,
where he stayed until he died from liver disease.
In 1996, his daughters Lisa and Lorna
Howard of Phoenix sold the rights to his name to
Michael Cassel, an entrepreneur who wanted to open
a business that would appeal to hot rod enthusiasts.
A few years later, Cassel entered a partnership with
Tonny Sorensen, the company's current CEO, who was
initially hoping to produce a film about Von Dutch.
(The partners are wrangling over control of the company.)
In 2000, the company opened its first
store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. It has since
opened four more -- in Beverly Hills, Chicago, Miami
and Santa Monica. In May 2002, Sorensen hired designer
Christian Audigier, who has worked for the youth-minded
apparel companies Diesel, Bisou Bisou and American
Eagle Outfitters. Audigier focused more on fashion,
adding hoodies and jeans. Although the truckers'
hats are the most visible of Von Dutch's products,
Sorensen said the company does more sales volume
in jeans, which cost $145 to $320. The company's
sales have risen from $1 million in 2001 to roughly
$33 million in 2003. Von Dutch currently sells Chris
Hats, Trucker Hats, Belt Buckles, T-Shirts and jewelrey.
