Founder of Lip Service and Kill City clothing line Drew Bernstein commits suicide.
Los Angeles — Drew Bernstein the CEO and founder of The Original Cult, Inc. Kill City and Lip Service clothing companies has taken his own life.
KTLA News in Los Angeles has reported a body found on a hiking trail near Mulholland Drive close to Laurel Canyon. It’s being reported now that the body was that of Drew Bernstein. “The victim was a white male in his early 50s who had died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, according to Sgt. Dave Cueto with the LAPD’s North Hollywood Station.” The full story is found HERE.
Many might not immediately know his name, but if you watched Headbanger’s Ball back in the day then you’ve seen his designs. Bernstein was the designer of many of the jackets, pants and accessories worn by Guns N’ Roses, L.A. Guns and Poison in their hey day.
Friends of the designer have taken to social media to mourn the loss of their friend, brother and industry veteran. Many are sharing with #LipService or #KillCity.
Riki Rachtman who grew up with the Bernstein posted about Drew on his official Facebook HERE.
The former MTV Vj and co-founder of the Cathouse said the following: “Life can be really fucked up sometime. You know what death is worse. I was just informed that the only true best friend I had in High School took his own life. We did everything together. I feel sad I feel angry but mostly I feel numb. Life can be really fucked up sometimes…..but death is worse.”
ApparelNews.Com is also reporting and confirming the 51 year old Los Angeles resident’s death.
Bernstein talked about clothing line in a October 2013 feature on LA.Racked.Com. We grabbed a few comments from the designer noted below.
Break down the four different brands under The Original Cult.
“Easy. I have a friend that says, ‘You make clothes for weirdos, that’s what you do.’ So, with all the different brands there are ‘Weirdos’ in the center and then there is Lip Service, that’s ‘Sexy Weirdos,’ Kill City is ‘Pretentious Weirdos,’ 24 Hours is ‘Trendy Weirdos’ and Widow is ‘Spooky Weirdos.’ So that’s it.”
Which brand do you relate to the most?
“I relate to them all.”
Do you find yourself wearing Kill City more?
“Yeah because I’m in jeans and a t-shirt everyday, that’s why I wanted to start Kill City. It is really about killer jeans, leather jackets and t-shirts, the rock ‘n’ roll essentials. What else do you need?”
Read the full interview HERE
LA Times is also reporting a hiker found dead. See video report below.
Metal Sludge
RIP Sludge
