There seems to be no stopping Christian Audigier, the former designer of Von Dutch and head designer of Ed Hardy, and the man who actually had the chutzpah to name a trade show dedicated to his fleet of brands (and friends) “When I Move You Move.” On December 26th, the tattoo-inspired designer announced that they would launch Ed Hardy Snow, a licensing deal with licensee Winter Concepts, to produce snowboards, skis, bindings, plus apparel and accessories including goggles, gloves, and helmets. Ed Hardy Snow plans to premiere during ASR (Action Sports Retailer) Trade Show January 22-24 in San Diego. Ed Hardy Snow marks yet another wide-ranging licensing deal for the brand which also licenses their tattoo-artistry looks on a range of fashion and footwear and even products such as motorcycle helmets, air fresheners, and tanning products.

According to Ray Nosrati, the CEO of Winter Concepts in a recent Apparel News article, “The whole tattoo look is in high demand on the slopes.” Other than tattoos on mostly male riders themselves, we honestly have no idea why he thinks this is the case in ski and snowboarding apparel, or for that matter, skis and snowboards. (For a great quick preview of what to expect in outerwear for this season, check out Transworld Business online and their snapshots of key looks and brands.) In addition, the whole tattoo-inspired artwork is so, well, 2007. Nosrati, (who I’m guessing is a fan of old-school one-piece neon Bogner ski suits), continues to say that there’s no graphics or color in ski and snowboard brands today, which is what Ed Hardy Snow tends to bring to the forefront in their new collection. However the bright-colored nu rave look circa 1990 pro snowboarder Damian Sanders, is still going pretty strong as a current retro trend. Sure, many brands in snowboarding (and then of course, correspondingly, in skiwear) offer large doses of black and white, but plaids and a new outerwear grunge captures most trends today, as well as aspects of bright block colors, varied angled graphics, and repeat patterns.

With Ed Hardy Snow’s premiere collection, we can expect to see the typical assault of Ed Hardy graphics, tigers, skulls, plus loads of color. The collection will be available in high-end boutiques and various ski resort stores. And as with any ski/snowboard brand, Ed Hardy Snow is currently checking out various athletes’ resumes to put together their official Ed Hardy Snow Team. Now that should be quite interesting.