Dapper Dan might as well be up there with some of the greats in hip-hop, because for as long as they’ve been entertaining us, he’s been outfitting them. A hero to some Dapper Dan, is a Harlem based designer who hustled his way to success by selling and designing clothes using logos and monograms from luxury brands for over two decades. In an interview with The Cut, he talks about his impact of logos in the 80s in the entertainment industry and how he brought it to life through his own interpretations of high-end logos from brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Christian Dior and Fendi. In entertainment, specifically hip-hop we associate stature with wealth and for us,we wear our wealth through our clothing:
[A logo] signifies status, and money, which go hand in hand. The thing is, you can have the status but nobody will know you don’t have the money. So that’s what gives it such an impact in your look.
In the interview Dan also talks about how he and style maven, Kanye West are similar in some ways. He says that when Kanye first got on the scene Louis Vuitton embraced him, so he there was no need for ‘Ye to come to him. Dan says that Kanye spent a lot of money to realize—he was subject to the same thing he was subject to, “You can wear it, you can promote it, but you’re not getting a piece of this.”
Dappa Dan says that today, rappers and entertainers no longer want interpretations, they want the real thing, which for someone like him makes it extremely challenging, considering thats what his career was built upon. Dappa Dan has styled hip-hop greats such as Nas, Salt-n-Peppa, Kay Slay, Russell Simmons, Queen Latifah, Mike Tyson and more. For more check out the full article here.
