I’m so excited to be back with you for Fashion Friday!

Last month I launched a new series called The History of Fashion.  The aim is to share in-depth information about a brand that you may not know and how that brand or designer has made a significant impact on the history of fashion.

Today’s subject is the legendary Dapper Dan.

Dapper Dan grew up in Harlem, New York.  His family didn’t have much money, but he credits his love for fashion to a time during childhood when they were able to buy him a pair of fancy loafers.  I love hearing about these pivotal moments when a person recognizes the transformative power of fashion.  It’s truly life-changing.

Dapper Dan, whose real name is Daniel Day, started a boutique in Harlem in the 1980s.  With no prior experience making garments, he was determined.  At the time he started his business, American manufacturing was being sent overseas (this is the birth of fast fashion).  Factories shut down overnight and Dapper Dan purchased their equipment at auctions.

Although he didn’t know how to use it, he asked questions; observed.  It was a modern day informational interview, done over and over again.  Dapper Dan calls his learning process “sciencing,” which I love.

His trademark is over-the-top leather and fur ensembles with one key element: luxury logos.  The catch?  He didn’t have permission to use them.

Dapper Dan would buy up all the luxury hardware on handbags, etc. at department stores and repurpose them in his creations.  He also invented a new way to silk screen onto leather, introducing the first instance of “logomania”.

His clothes were so eye-catching they caught the attention of celebrities and most prominently, hip hop artists.

What makes Dapper Dan so significant to the history of fashion is that he’s the designer that merged luxury fashion with hip hop culture.  The two entities didn’t intersect prior to Dapper Dan.  Kind of like a Banksy of the fashion world, he pushed boundaries and people took notice.

It wasn’t until Mike Tyson got into a fight outside of Dapper Dan’s boutique, and made world-wide news, that luxury brands caught on to what he was doing.  Predictably, the cease and desist orders and lawsuits started.  They would eventually be his demise.  Dapper Dan closed his boutique in the 90’s, after 10 years in business.

In 2017, the essence of Dapper Dan re-emerged in Gucci’s resort collection.  Alessandro Michele created a jacket that was almost an exact replica of a balloon-sleeved Louis Vuitton number Dan created for Olympian Diane Dixon in the 80s.  Gucci was promptly called out.

What transpired next is between Gucci and Dapper Dan, but by 2018 Dapper Dan opened a new boutique and debuted a men’s line with Gucci.

Dapper Dan changed the way the world got dressed.  I have his memoir queued up in my Audible for after I finish The Chiffon Trenches.

I wish I had more pictures to share, but they are all right’s managed, so I encourage you to read more about Dapper Dan, check out his website and his Instagram.