LRG designer's death investigated in California

(CBS/AP) An autopsy has been ordered in the death of Jonas Bevacqua, co-founder and designer of the popular street clothing brand LRG.

Bevacqua, 34, was found dead Tuesday in his Laguna Beach, Calif., home, Orange County sheriff's officials said.

"There were no obvious signs of the cause of death,'' sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino told The Associated Press. He added that the county coroner would conduct the autopsy Wednesday.

A statement on Irvine-based LRG's website read, "We ask that everyone keep his family in their hearts and prayers and respect their privacy in this time of incredible grief.''

According to the company's Facebook page, Bevacqua and his business partner, Robert Wright, founded Lifted Research Group, known to patrons as LRG, with start-up capital raised in part from friends of Bevacqua's adoptive father.

A college dropout, Bevacqua was influenced by Southern California's skateboard, surfing and hip hop culture.

"I grew up in a pretty unique environment and was exposed to a lot of different things,'' he said in a 2009 interview with the Orange County Register. "I didn't feel there was a clothing company to bridge the gap between all these different things that we were into - that spoke for that melting pot of what was going on. That's what LRG was all about.''

By 2006, LRG had annual sales of $150 million and was named by Entrepreneur magazine as No. 5 on its list of that year's 500 fastest growing companies. Among its popular clothing lines are Luxirie, which targets 18- to 30-year-old women, offering clothing with Western and military themes, and items such as crystal-covered jeans.

Athletes Kobe Bryant and Reggie Bush, singer Kanye West and director Quentin Tarantino all have been seen in LRG designs.

Initially a clothing company, LRG has since branched out to include sales of electronic devices, music and other items. It described itself as a "creative lifestyle" company that attempts to reflect its founders' interests, not only in fashion but also environmental causes and other activities.

"The company is also involved in the promotion of underground recording artists and sponsors a skateboarding team,'' according to its website.

Bevacqua is survived by his mother, father, son, fiancee and seven siblings, according to the company's website.