[2] The trademark rights were sold in 1996 to Mike Cassell who, with Robert Vaughn, used the logo for an apparel line named Von Dutch Originals.

The clothing brand gained popularity in the US and attracted the attention of celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Ashton Kutcher and Eric Church.

[4][5][6][7][8][9] Kenneth Robert Howard was an American motorcycle mechanic, artist, pin striper, metal fabricator, knifemaker and gunsmith.

“A letter he wrote about abandoning harsh medical treatment for a fatal illness is blunt: ‘I am not willing to go through it anymore only to emerge in a place full of Africans, Mexicans and Jews.

Soon afterward, Spears and Timberlake made national news with their breakup, and happened to be wearing Von Dutch trucker hats on the cover of People.

In February 2005, Vaughn was arrested on charges of first degree murder after he shot and killed childhood friend Mark Rivas, who he claimed attacked him with a broken bottle.

In May 2004, Boswell, who resented Cassel and Vaughn for buying him out of the company just before it became successful, leaked to the press a letter written by Howard in 1992, in which the late artist made several racist and antisemitic remarks and professed admiration for Nazi Germany.

[18][19] Despite Boswell having nothing to do with the clothing line, this letter destroyed what little popularity the company had left; by 2004, the fashion press had derisively nicknamed the brand "Von Douche".

[20] In 2016 Von Dutch started to make a comeback when Kylie Jenner was seen wearing the famous trucker hat, jackets and two-piece sets.

[24] In 2024 Charli XCX released a song named Von Dutch as the lead single from her sixth studio album, Brat.