Press Release.
Issued 1 October 2004
Von Ditched
UK cap
specialists, Capitate.co.uk, offers customers who purchased Von Dutch
headwear from their online store a full refund on the back of Von Dutch
racism allegations.
The Von
Dutch logo is adorned by the biggest names in music, film, television and
sport. In 2004, the Von Dutch Originals fashion label expects to triple
their previous year's earnings of
$33
million And it's all built on a name.
Von Dutch
was the founding father of the 1960s 'Kustom Kar' paint craze. Formerly
known as Kenneth Howard, he was accredited with inventing the freestyle
pin-striping and painted flames which became the defining marques of
California car subculture.
He is
mostly associated with two images - a flying eyeball and the stylised
version of the nickname he adopted for himself, 'Von Dutch'. He died in
1992, age 63, but these images were licensed by his heirs to Los
Angeles-based 'Von Dutch Originals'. And thanks, in part, to celebrity
patrons, the Von Dutch logo now adorns T shirts and trucker caps globally.
According
to an article published in the
Orange
County Weekly there's a much darker and lesser known side to the man
behind the ubiquitous cap.
The article
alleges that acquaintances of Von Dutch claim that he was a racist with
all the trappings of a neo-Nazi and that he couldn't tolerate black
people. A letter written by Von Dutch while heavily medicated, reportedly
closes with 'Heil Hitler.'
In an
unprecedented move, UK cap specialists, Capitate.co.uk have withdrawn all
Von Dutch caps from their site. They're offering customers who purchased
Von Dutch caps from Capitate.co.uk (http://www.capitate.co.uk) a full
refund on the hats return regardless of when they bought it. A spokesperson for Capitate.co.uk said "The allegations coming out are pretty shocking.
Von Dutch was certainly one of our most sought after styles. We appreciate
that the Von Dutch racism reports are alleged, but nevertheless, we feel
that giving our customers this option is the right thing to do."
-Ends-
Notes to
Editor:
Source: Von Dutch.
http://www.vondutch.com/default.aspx?html=/theteam.html
Source: Orange County Weekly.
http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/04/18/cover-douglas.php
This offer only applies to Von Dutch hats purchased from
Capitate.co.uk. The hat must be returned to Capitate.co.uk to qualify.
Capitate.co.uk won't be able to reimburse for expenses incurred in
returning the cap for refund. Customers should visit
www.capitate.co.uk or email
VonDutchReturns@capitate.co.uk for more information. |
