Christian Audigier, Dave Stewart and T.I. talk clothes and music in Vegas

Since Sunday, Las Vegas has been filled with clothing designers, hip-hop musicians and clothing buyers from around the world for the second in the twice-a-year fashion trade show known as MAGIC.

For the first time, however, rock star designer Christian Audigier took his quickly expanding empire out of the usual trade show environment at the Las Vegas Convention Center and created his own elaborate star-studded event just a few miles down the road at Caesar's Palace, taking over the casino's entire convention space and featuring performances from Macy Gray, T.I., Dave Stewart and Snoop Dogg, all of whom have their own signature lines under Audigier's lifestyle umbrella.

T.I.'s Tuesday afternoon performance, staged inside a boxing ring, had all the energy of a prize fight. T.I.'s general rawkus behavior, as he ran through a quick set of his most recent hits, caused the crowd to bounce and bob their heads. The self-proclaimed "King of the South," whose well-publicized court trouble and house arrest took no sting out of his lively stage presence, thrilled the crowd of young models, wholesale clothing buyers and guys with mohawks. Hits like "Big Things Poppin (Do It)," and "What You Know," were greeted with serious woots and hollers from the crowd. T.I. closed the promo set with a couple tracks off of his upcoming "Paper Trail" album, including the groovy Jim Jonsin-produced ode to the ladies, "Whatever You Like."

The rapper/actor says his signature menswear line has been in the works for years. But his plan wasn't to present just ordinary streetwear. "It's going to be very diversified. It's going to go from boutiques to specialty stores to department stores," he said after his performance. The line, called AKOO ( A King Of Oneself), is meant to be high-fashion -- like the clothes typically worn by the Dirty South performer. But he says his objective isn't to be as high-end as, say, your typical Louis Vuitton t-shirt. It's a clothing line he hopes his average fan can afford.  "You're going to have your high hot-dollar items as well as your everyday hoodies, t-shirts and polo items," he said.

T.I.'s representatives were still hashing out the details on which stores would carry his collection, but said it's scheduled for a November debut. His album drops September 30, just weeks after his latest film role as a convict and bank robber in "Bone Deep," is scheduled to premiere.

Another collaboration, which focuses on rock music, is Rock Fabulous, which includes t-shirts, sport jackets and women's dresses sprung from the mind of producer and former Eurythmic Dave Stewart. "I came to Christian with the concept of making an ultimate rock and roll clothes brand," he said of the rock-star cool and black-on-black designs of his line, which has the air of streetwear, but more chic.

"I wanted [the clothing to reflect] that rock and roll kind of feeling, when you first get into rock and roll....to stay true to that dream, even if you're older."

Stewart said his inspirations were drawn from memories of watching the Rolling Stones play in Hyde Park as a teen, and seeing Jimi Hendrix. It was also drawn from the " darkness" of Keith Richard's clothing choices, and Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground.

"Certain people at certain points touched on this thing, you know...Jim Morrison in the black leather trousers and the black shirt. I threw on so many different worlds and elements."

Stewart was also promoting a coffee table book filled with his songwriting and photography. He said he'll be performing at the Roxy with a 30-piece orchestra and an 8-piece band, playing songs from the book in the coming weeks.

This mix of hip-hop and rock reflects the influences and fan base of Audigier's clothing designs. His Ed Hardy brand is a staple of uber cool across the board. But why put on such a huge trade show that only pushes his related clothing lines? Two reason. First, he called the MAGIC show format old school. With his ever-expanding base of dedicated buyers, he's the new generation of lifestyle brands in the vein of Ralph Lauren (he's got 72 licenses, including pet products). Second, he openly embraces the support from both hip-hop culture and rock culture. "I believe in the music first. Hip-hop and rock and roll are the same to me," Audigier said, "and they fit very well with fashion."

--post and photos by Camilo Smith

Comments

[Victoria Smith]

This is a great article and very well written.

[SeanRashid]

Christian Audigier is not only creative but a smart business man. I attended his trade show and was very impressed. T.I. is a very talented artist who leaves a lasting impression after you meet him. I think he will be as big as JayZ in the next few years.