von dutch was a man…not a clothing line or brand of kustom cycles. anyone who cares (or doesnt) knows this already and im sure many people have written about how much they hate von dutch clothing etc, but im writing anyway because i saw a woman wearing a von dutch tee earlier today and it just irritated me a bit. kenneth howard was somewhat of a hero in our household and to see his name plastered on shitty clothes and crappy motorcyles is almost blasphemy.
von dutch would roll over in his effing grave if he saw what his sisters did to him when they sold his name to a clothing company. he hated money and made just enough of it to live and fund his craft. he was a pinstriper, gunsmith, knife maker and artist. he was one of the truly cool men… he started pinstriping when it was just a technique for covering scratches, he invented graphic tees (airbrush art on clothes), and the guns and knives he made were simply beautiful. he lived in a bus and made art till he died in 92.
i guess , like a lot of true visonaries , Tesla , big daddy Roth or Picasso to name a few .Some peoples brilliance is timeless and i just wish all the assholes making money off their names had half the soul of the origonals
no doubt
WEARING A VON DUTCH TEE SHIRT IS THE SAME AS PUTTING PEEL AND STICK PINSTRIPING ON YOUR CAR IT’S A DISCRACE TO THE MAN AND THE ART FORM