ADEDOYIN JOHNSON
In what could be called a rare collaboration, African American designer, Daniel Day otherwise known as Dapper Dan is reopening is fashion studio and atelier in Harlem, United States of America supported by Gucci.
Dapper Dan is known in the predominantly black community as a creator of his own kind of style, remixing luxury goods from brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton into newer, weirder garments worn by local and visiting royalty.
From 1982 t0 1992, is studio was known as the go-to-place by everyone in Harlem who wants a touch of luxury where they commission him to create furs, leather goods and other fashion pieces with unauthorised logos of designers. His counterfeiting was elevated to the level of art.
Dapper Dan is known to have made his own Guuci, Fendi, Louis Vuitton for well known African American stars like Rakim, Mike Tyson, LL Cool J, and Erik B. Although Dapper Dan was known to have been a designer even before the luxury brands existed.
With his collaboration with Gucci, he no longer has to fake the ‘G’ sign as Gucci will supply him with the original monogram.
Gucci copied one of Dan Dapper’s designs showcased at its cruise collection show in Florence, Italy
Earlier, the internet was agog with the news of how Gucci copied one of Dan Dapper’s designs showcased at its cruise collection show in Florence, Italy when a mink jacket was sent on the runway by Gucci’s creative director, Alessandro Michele. The Louis Vuitton logo long puff sleeve of the jacket in the original was changed to Gucci’s in the copied version.
“You have to understand, I am prepared to be copied the first day my store opened,” New York Times quoted Dapper as saying in a report. “My store first opened, and I couldn’t get designers garments in there, nobody would sell to me. I am talking 1982. This is 2017. That’s already behind me. The fact that it has to be two different worlds, I have already accepted that. I was just content satisfying the people in my community.”
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