«GOOD BUSINESS IS THE BEST ART»

July 1 (Bloomberg) -- French designer Christian Audigier, whose Ed Hardy t-shirts are worn by Madonna and Britney Spears, is selling champagne wrapped in his signature tattoo designs in an expansion of his $1 billion business. Audigier, who left trucker-cap brand Von Dutch in 2004 to start Ed Hardy, will begin selling the French champagne in the U.K. tonight, he said in an interview in central London today. The glam-rock designer said extending the Christian Audigier brand with a vodka and beer later this year is “just the beginning” of what he has in store for the label.Sales of Audigier’s nine brands, which are licensed to 172 separate products ranging from pet-wear and motor bikes to his 65-pound ($107) a bottle rose champagne, surpassed $1 billion last year as he expanded into markets from China to Dubai. That represents revenue growth of about three times from the previous year, he said.“The tattoos are very graphic and colorful and can be used anywhere -- the clothes and wines are just the beginning,” said Audigier, who is based in Los Angeles. The designs “have become a craze, a cultural phenomenon,” he said in London. “Last week, Michael Jackson was wearing my jeans.”