Jon Gosselin Killed Ed Hardy Brand, Says Ed Hardy

There are some brands of various clothing lines that do extremely well from celebrity endorsement. There’s James Franco as the face of Gucci’s Made-To-Measure collection, and for years the Gap had Sarah Jessica Parker involved in their campaign. However, if you’re Ed Hardy of the Ed Hardy clothing line, the celebrity endorsement of Jon Gosselin probably doesn’t help an empire expand.

During his messy divorce from wife Kate Gosselin, Jon Gosselin lived in Ed Hardy clothes, which might have put the brand in a douchetastic light, putting the company in a position that enabled them to fight their negative image. Tacky designs aside, Ed Hardy said that it was Gosselin who killed the clothing brand.

There was a certain period of backlash that Gosselin received after putting his family in turmoil after splitting from the mother of their eight children. After the announcement of their split, Gosselin seemed to go through an image overall and practically slept in his Ed Hardy wear. Soon after, Ed Hardy was splashed all over tabloids as Gosselin was spotted traipsing around town with much younger then-girlfriend Hailey Glassman.

So how much did Jon Gosselin’s endorsement hurt Ed Hardy? A lot. Despite Jon’s friendship with Christian Audigier, who licensed Hardy’s art for shirts and other assorted products, Hardy said the friendship certainly didn’t do his company any favors.

Hardy recently told the New York Post:
“That Jon Gosselin thing was the nail in the coffin. That’s what tanked it. Macy’s used to have a huge window display with Ed Hardy, and it filtered down and that’s why Macy’s dropped the brand.”

Although Hardy is blaming Jon Gosselin, he isn’t putting the weight of his empire all on Gosselin’s shoulders. He puts a hefty amount of the blame on French businessman Audigier:

“Christian worships celebrities so much, he will get next to anyone who is famous for anything. If he could have gotten Charles Manson in a shirt, he would have.”

Do you think Jon Gosselin is at fault for Ed Hardy’s collapse or do you think it has more to do with the fashion line itself?