Page 56 - Dapper Dan News Today

>> yeah, and gucci had a meeting with dapper dan, and it was interesting to hear the different ideas and perspectives, next week, or in two weeks, were having a show room, we met in our conference room, were turning that into a show room and were going to have a dozen or so african-american designers with racks of clothes and were inviting designers and media to come in. theyre working withtists and someone that has been in our industry a long time. there is a group called fashion for all. this ...

Correct that wrong. gucci, the luxury fashion company says they want to make things right. after social media users pointed out that this gucci sweater, there it is, it resembled blackface. gucci quickly apologized. discontinued selling the sweater. but its their next steps that show the fashion house is working to make sure sweaters like that dont end up on shelves again. some of guccis executives came from italy to new york city to hold a meeting with their harlem-based collaborator dapper dan...

Was popular at the same time. >> the way that dan used brands, fed the kind of rapper culture that was happening at that time and coming out of harlem. >> it goes back to that hip hop culture wanting to be exclusive. you wanted to get an outfit from dapper dan because nobody else had it. >> the new designer at gouchi fwouound one of these and remad the same garment. hes now ripped off the rip off. and it got in touch with dan and had a collaboration together and sponsored his shop and hes become...

>> dapper dan is a new york legend. >> our thought plan was probably around mid-84, 85. i had had to come up with something that was unique and real. i said a print on leather, which nobody else was doing. i think that would be a fete thomasal thing to do. >> the fabric, shom of the shapes ask it was underground. none of it was approved. >> he started making clothes that the companies themselves hadnt thought of doing yet. and he made this incredibly powerful, really post modern look. >> eventua...

Dapper dan early on tapped into black cultures fascination with labels. >> i start playing with logos probably around mid 84, 85, like that. i had to come up with something that was unique and real, so i said, if i can print on leather, which nobody else was doing, i think that would be a phenomenal thing to do. >> he appropriated fabrics, some of the shapes, and it was completely underground and none of it was approved bit brands. >> he started making clothes that the companies themselves hadnt...

Throughout culture. >> you had oversized clothes, you had a lot of big chains, youed had gold teeth. all of that was kind of the excessive style. >> what youre trying to put forth and portray is confidence, strength, affluence. >> this look at first was mocked. but believe me, it was picked up by high fashion really early on. for chanel couture, the big gold chains, only now they were big double cs on them. >> it probably was the most influential style change in american fashion in that decade. ...

Be exclusive. you know, you wanted to get an outfit from dapper dan because nobody else had it. >> the new designer at gucci, alessandro vicali, found one of these early homages dapper dan had done, and effectively remade the exact same garment. hes now ripped off the rip-off. and alessandro vicali gucci got in touch with dan. they had a collaboration together, they sponsored his shop, and hes become very popular again. [ somber music playing ] hes passed away six times this year. [ cheering ] [...

We were doing in south side jamaica queens all around the world. it made the world notice who we were. >> what shirt kings were about were drawing things that we saw, you know, in our community. we basically remixed them, turned them into a joke. this became our reality, you know. so we put mickey on crack. >> when times are bad, a lot of people tend to gravitate towards art. art takes your mind to another place. you know, shirt kings allowed me to not become something else. >> shirt kings and d...

>> the belt that im wearing here, you know, this style stuff dapper dan was putting together on your shoe. dapper dan was putting together on your baseball cap. you know, the lv was on your baseball cap, on your pouch that hung from your neck. you know, dapper dan would use that where louis vuitton wouldnt. people who could afford it were going to dap instead of louis, you know what im saying? you may walk into louis vuitton and he looked down at you. especially in 1980. you went to dap, you fee...

You know. i didnt even realize the impact that it was having because i just wanted to serve my community. i just wanted to serve the black people. i would be satisfied just with the neighborhood i was in, you know what i mean? getting the respect from them. >> back in the day, it was about high-end brand. if it wasnt the actual high-end brand, it was dapper dan. got the seats done, the whole upholstery inside my car done black and red gucci. >> ive kind of had make me a shirley, once, with the...