Dapper Dan has been immortalized by his now-shuttered boutique, which defined early hip-hop fashion with its use of re-appropriated luxury designs from fashion houses like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel. In a recent profile with Dazed, Dapper Dan spoke on the famous clientele he was able to build thanks to those designs, as well as legal battles with luxury fashion houses. The article gets really interesting when the famous Harlem native turned to the subject of Kanye West, specifically the rapper's now-famous leather Givenchy kilt.
On the subject of style in Harlem, Dapper Dan told Dazed that what's "off limits" in Harlem is men wearing skirts—a huge trend among some of the biggest rappers late in 2012. "That’s a big issue, because Harlem fashion is a manhood thing," he said. "You have to be an established tough guy to pull that off." When asked whether or not he thinks Kanye pulled it off, he said simply: “I don’t recall anybody asking me to make them a Kanye skirt!”
Read the full article here.
[via Dazed]