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.
