Designer Spotlight: Dapper Dan - Topic of the day 2/15/25
Have you wondered how Logomania became such a pervasive phenomenon? Usually, there are many factors that start a trend but this widely worn style has its roots exclusively with Dapper Dan, a harlem-born designer who started his business by selling bootleg logo rips out of his van. Plastered with luxury logos such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, his loud counterfeit “knock-ups” took the fashion world by storm when they were worn by celebrities such as Mike Tyson, LL Cool J, and Rakim. Eventually, he was shut down by the large companies for his illegal use of their intellectual properties. “Borrowing” from his ideas, legacy leather brands like LV and Gucci pivoted towards the logomania he pioneered on luxury clothing. In 2017, Dapper Dan finally became a legitimate collaborator of Gucci after years of using their likeness to create iconic pieces. Can you spot his influence in the everyday world?
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dapper dan is a case of someone who doesn't need the trappings of traditional fame/success (e.g. showing at fashion week) and yet is someone who i think deserves far more
obviously the coat
i think for me (individually) dapper dan is emblematic of Black style and its evolution, from the dandy of continental Europe to the cherishing of formalwear for church and other (White) settings to the subversion of Black Ivy in the 1960s and 1970s to the rise of hip hop culture and how it was eventually co-opted by the masses
obviously gucci and LV are prime examples of his impact (LV in particular given their creative directors of late) but i think he was ahead of the curve in a lot of ways - wider fit pants, the mix of tailoring and "streetwear", more pronounced jewelry, more "difficult" color pairings, be they monochromatic fits or more elaborate color palletes, more leather - these are all things we see now in clothing, whether it's at pitti uomo or in fashion week or on instagram (or here lol) https://www.reddit.com/r/HipHopImages/comments/18pdd28/dapper_dan_between_1982_and_1992_this_mans/
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Dont get me wrong he’s super influential but I feel like wide fit pants in hip hop was huge every year except from 2010 to 2024 and I don’t know if we can place that influence on him
He was a bespoke suit maker before he got bids to custom make pieces
I’m just happy he is officially recognized now for one of the most prevalent styles in the world
Especially after Gucci copied his iconic design that one year
that's a fair point and in fairness i cast a little wide of a net there
i do think the blending of luxury goods and hip hop style vis a vis logomania is on him and there's probably a throughline from that to virgil
Yes luxury goods representation in hip hop is him I think
And he also kinda single handedly saved LV since before him LV basically exclusively sold leather goods
Then they realized people wanted to buy LV clothes and pivoted towards clothes
doesn't get as much recognition as he deserves. this archive collection is still one of my favs
Ugh Logomania looks so good here
We should go back to this style of Logomania
what is current logomania like if it’s not this? like a big logo printed on the front of a hoodie?
ya, i think there's something to be said for how the logos were integrated into DD's work
vs lets say
i see, so the dd examples actually feel more thought out
at least to me, yes
i think with DD the choice of how the logos were used is as important as the fact that he made a gucci or LV print, vs making a basic thing more interesting because you brand it excessively
i'm not the biggest fan of the 2024 DD x GAP collab but i think its telling GAP has/continues to collab with him in an effort to modernize themselves and its a positive sign they deemed his style as sellable for mass market
Hypebeast
Dapper Dan and GAP Reunite for Biggest "DAP GAP" Collection Yet
Hypebeast sat down with Harlem's fashion legend to discuss the line's Western personality, his efforts to "destigmatize" the hoodie, and the future of his partnership with the GAP brand.
DAP is so bad lol
This is an awesome topic and a learning experience for me