Dapper dan harlem how to#
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In this remarkable memoir, he tells his full story for the first time.ĭecade after decade, Dapper Dan discovered creative ways to flourish in a country designed to privilege certain Americans over others.

But before he reinvented haute couture, he was a hungry boy with holes in his shoes, a teen who daringly gambled drug dealers out of their money, and a young man in a prison cell who found nourishment in books. With his now-legendary store on 125th Street in Harlem, Dapper Dan pioneered high-end streetwear in the 1980s, remixing classic luxury-brand logos into his own innovative, glamorous designs. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY VANITY FAIR - DAPPER DAN NAMED ONE OF TIME'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD It's about tenacity, curiosity, artistry, hustle, love, and a singular determination to live our dreams out loud.'-Ava DuVernay, director of Selma, 13th, and A Wrinkle in Time Day's most recent 2018 collaboration with Gucci isn't mentioned in the book, neither the men's line nor the current atelier in Harlem, except in photos and the acknowledgments.NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - 'Dapper Dan is a legend, an icon, a beacon of inspiration to many in the Black community. He crossed the country, visiting Black communities in different cities and designing clothing/filling orders largely by word of mouth, keeping his work underground so as not to attract the public attention that led to his previous legal problems. After a period of hibernation and some soul searching of the metaphysical kind (a common occurrence in his memoir), Day resurfaced. Even knocked down, as he had been previously when he battled a heroin addiction or spent time in jail, Day is nothing if not a survivor who has always been motivated first and foremost by providing for his family. Then the high-fashion world eventually took notice, serving Day with lawsuits that, in conjunction with an attempted kidnapping that sent him to the hospital with a gunshot wound, eventually led him to shut down his boutique. Photo: Janette Beckman/Courtesy of Dapper Dan Salt-N-Pepa decked out in Dapper Dan at a photo shoot for their label in 1988. His customers wanted to buy into that power, and Day saw a way for them to do so without compromise - designed and built for them. Day studied the history of heritage brands like Gucci and Fendi's logos to learn how the symbols had evolved into status symbols, the core of a brand's power.

Dapper dan harlem how to#

With the hard work and studious, methodical nature he applied to every other pursuit in his life, he studied up, taught himself how to silk-screen, hired a Senegalese tailor, Big Sek, and started to fill the Harlem community's demand for clothing that bore the marks of a fashion insider but with an outsider's twist: customized to how Day and the client thought would look best (speaking to the knock-ups-not-knock-offs mentality). But Day saw the opportunity to cater to a clientele that the exclusive high-fashion world kept on the outside: the 'bosses and kingpins and hustlers' of his community who felt as uncomfortable going into those downtown luxury stores as he did. There weren't many Black fashion students or Black-owned luxury goods factories around at the time for him to learn from or work with.

He was an outsider in the fashion world - not formally trained (Day's textile and production know-how is largely self-taught), and also seen as an outsider by those on the inside (he describes walking into Louis Vuitton on Fifth Avenue and feeling the whole store tense up). Sparkly Gowns and Drapey Black Dresses Rule at the 2022 'Business of Fashion' GalaĪnd what power Day had.