BVIiWIhmi
Mike lohnson, Ape Shape
Rock
8:oo pm, $15 advance, $17 door
• Friday •
Forbidden Beauty:
Women’s Dances
of the Peoples of Afghanistan -
An Evening with Helene Eriksen
Dance Performance
7:15 pm, $15 door
• Sunday •
...and you will know us
by the Trail of Dead,
Dance Disaster Movement,
Forget Cassettes
8:00 pm, $12 advance, $12 door for UO students
$H advance, $1; door, for general public
Stan (tideway
wrthDevotchKa
Singer-Songwriter
8:00 pm, tio advance, $12 door
• Tuesday •
Rebirth Brass Band,
with Carlos Washington
i the Amazm? Giant People
Jazz/Funk
9:00 pm, $10 advance, $10 door
• Wednesday, November 10 *
ASG, Mastro j, The Sweater Club
Comnirttg
Canter tar the
Performing Arts
• Tonight •
Builtto Spill,
Monday
Pepper,
Reggae-Rock
8:00 pm, $10 advance $12 door
All Ages Welcome
687-2746
Von Dutch: Behind the hot rod garb
controversy about racism
and ownership rights
engulfs the clothing label
BY DAHVI FISCHER
PULSE REPORTER
From the heads of Britney Spears
and Ashton Kutcher to the bodies of
Gwen Stefani and Paris Hilton, the Von
Dutch name has become a break
through phenomenon in the fashion
industry over the past two years.
While Von Dutch is well-known to
celebrities and savvy shoppers alike,
the story, the legend and the contro
versy that lie beneath the trendy cloth
ing line are unknown to many.
Paranoid, angry, stubborn, often
drunk and yet still considered by
many to be a genius, Kenneth
Howard (a.k.a. Von Dutch ) was a
marvel in the hot rod automobile
business, known for his pinstriping
talent, who essentially revived
what was considered a dead art.
Dutch, who attended Compton
High School, began pinstriping at a
young age and earned his famous
nickname for being “as stubborn as a
Dutchman.” Dutch is considered the
father of the “kustom car” craze.
While successful and well-known for
his talent, Dutch was always against
money and fame. He took pride in his
poverty lifestyle and never wanted
money for the work he completed.
People who knew him have said he
would roll over in his grave if he knew
his name has turned into a global
brand.
Following his death from liver dis
ease at the age of 63 in September
1992, his two daughters, Lisa and
Lorna Howard, were issued rights to
the Von Dutch name. In 1996,
Dutch’s daughters sold the Von
Dutch rights to Michael Cassel, who
wanted to start a business that would
cater to hot-rod fans. In 1999, Von
Dutch Originals was made an official
label. Ed Boswell, a Los Angeles art
collector and publisher, said Cassel,
an entrepreneur from Venice, Calif.,
conned him out of his interests.
Boswell said he has not received any
Zumiez, located at
Valley River Center,
carries this T-shirt
and other apparel
from Von Dutch.
portion of gross sales through Oct. 5.
He said he made the line what it is to
day and that Cassel takes full credit
for the concept. Boswell said he
helped Dutch’s daughters, who sold
him out to Cassel.
The battle over ownership rights is
not the only controversy that exists
within the Von Dutch saga. According
to some people who knew the man,
Dutch was a prejudiced and racist fig
ure. Robert Williams, friend of Dutch,
stated in “Von Who?,” an article writ
ten for the OCWeekly newspaper:
“(Dutch) was quite a racist; didn’t like
anybody. He had all the trappings of
being a Neo-Nazi.”
Boswell, who owns the rights to
all photos of Von Dutch, supported
the claim as well. Boswell said that
in a farewell note Dutch wrote to
close friends while on his death bed,
he closed with “Bye, Heil Hitler.”
After hearing news of this, CAPi
tate, a British online company that
sells baseball caps and trucker hats
through capitate.co.uk, took Von
Dutch hats off its market, regard
less of high sales.
“We stopped selling the hats when
we became aware of the allegations in
the ‘Von Who?’ at the start of
September,” CAPitate Managing Di
rector Ian Spencer said. “At this point
we removed our Von Dutch range
from sale. We considered our position
and about two weeks later, mid-Sep
tember, we took the decision to offer
customers who purchased Von Dutch
headwear from us the opportunity to
return the cap for a full refund, regard
less of when they bought the cap, or
its condition.”
CAPitate is not the only store to
take Von Dutch off its shelves. Local
ly, West Moon, an eclectic boutique
located near campus, which carried
a limited number of the Von Dutch
hats, discontinued its sales following
news of the bigotry allegations.
“Shortly after the hats were
bought for the store, a friend
brought the company’s background
to my attention and our store does
not support that. That is not what
our business is,” owner and buyer
for West Moon Jamie Decker said.
Many people refuse to wear the
popular line. Some who refuse are
traditional hot-rodders, while oth
ers are those who believe the line
has killed the Von Dutch name.
“1 am a fan of Von Dutch, the
pinstriper, not Von Dutch, the
clothing line,” said Fox News re
porter Heidi Cuda who has report
ed on Von Dutch. “1 truly think the
clothing line is stupid, mainly be
cause it has no soul, it doesn’t pay
the family and it’s worn by vapid
celebrities.”
Others have problems with how
the clothing label has moved away
from its hot-rodder origins.
“Von Dutch represents how ab
surd fashion is. People are repre
senting this label and have no idea
what the concept behind the label
is,” Decker said.
Boswell is especially disappoint
ed in the way the Von Dutch name
is being represented today.
“Von Dutch is not Britney, Justin,
Rodman and Paris,” he said. “It’s
the Third Reich, explosions, hot
rods, anti-social behavior, guns,
knives, motorcycles, alcohol, pot,
pinstriping and disdain for profi
teering jerks posing as edgy fashion
visionaries. In my view, Von Dutch
is a classic case of rank exploitation
and superficial and mindless hip
ness posing as the real deal.”
dahvifischer@dai ly emerald, com
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