B.A.F.F.L.E.D. Fashion
An Inspiration to Designers Whose Art Walks the Proverbial Line Between Infringement and Enhancement.
By: Attorney India Rios
Who is Dapper Dan? Born Daniel Day, in 1944, in Harlem, New York. In what one would have thought was his hay-day, he owned and operated Dapper Dan’s Boutique, a fashion powerhouse located in the heart of Harlem on the infamous 125th street. Dapper Dan currently has a partnership with Gucci and operates the Dapper Dan Atelier Studio, a modern-day Gucci outpost. He has been called “The Fashion Outlaw,” The King of Knock-Offs.” and Harlem’s “Hip Hop Tailor," but how exactly did he garner so much notoriety?
Left: Dapper Dan’s original Harlem Fashion House. Right: The man himself Dapper Dan photo by:
Andre D. Wagner for The New York Times
His rise to fame is closely associated with the rise of hip hop, black fashion culture, and the “Black Celebrity.” As a pioneer in the Hip Hop fashion industry, Dan tapped into a consumer base that high-end fashion boutiques had never viewed as a viable market for their designs. He catered to drug dealers, hustlers, rappers, fighters, and the then elite members of black society. His creations were significantly more complex and expensive than anything you could find in any high-end boutiques who would later claim he was infringing on their trademark rights. When he first started creating his designs, he would source Gucci fabric by purchasing Gucci logo-covered garment bags and transforming them into run-way-worthy styles.
Rakim and Eric B wearing coats designed by Dapper Dan.
His iconic luxury designer knock-offs, or as he would say, "Knock Ups," laid the foundation for then leather good companies like Gucci and Louis Vuitton to expand their product lines and start creating clothing designs of their own. Dapper Dan is most famously known for creating logomania. You know the clothes covered in designer logos. Today, the design style is commonplace, but hardly any designers were marketing logo-centric designs when Dan got started in the 1980s. Even though his work laid the foundation for many of today's common design styles, he did not receive a warm welcome into the already established high-end fashion industry. Dan was regularly threatened with litigation and received numerous cease and desist letters demanding that he stop making his high-end counterfeits. In addition to the threats of litigation, fashion houses would send their attorneys to obtain court orders giving them the right to raid his boutique regularly.
In a detailed piece by Esquire, Dapper Dan recounts the first time Louis Vuitton lawyers raided his shop. They seized any clothing that displayed their logo on it; the funny thing is these raids were happening at a time when Louis Vuitton had not sold one piece of clothing. You read that right when the Gucci, Louis, and Fendi's of the world were not yet selling clothing; they would raid his shop. Today, Gucci claims that it was never involved in any litigation against Dapper Dan during the peak of his boutique’s existence, however considering their business relationship with Dan now, one could say that it's water under the bridge!
As the infamous biblical scripture goes, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.
Now that you are all caught up on the history of Dapper Dan, you may be asking yourself how did he go from fashion house arch-nemesis to partnering with Gucci to create his iconic Gucci Atelier in Harlem? I'll tell you in two words, Social Media! In 2018 the Gucci Cruise collection featured a magnificent coat with a fur bodice with logo printed couture tailored sleeves. What was so special about this coat? It was a replica of a design Dan had created decades ago, the only difference being the coat he made featured the monogram logo of Louis Vuitton, and this coat boasted the Gucci logo. Black Twitter was instantly activated when side by side images of Dan’s original design next to Gucci's knock-off. Gucci was forced to not only recognize his greatness but also to extend an olive branch. You see, the tables had turned, and Dan could now issue the cease and desist letters to them. The infringer had become the infringed.
Ultimately, the two must have come to some sort of amicable agreement, as Dan now operates the only Gucci Atelier of its kind. Still, Dan has laid a foundation and blazed a trail that cannot be overlooked by young fashion designers who want to take current fashion designs and experiences to the next level. He single-handedly created a new fashion style with logomania. He bridged the gap between black culture and high fashion. Ultimately, he led the product expansion movement for high-end boutiques. More importantly, he has created a new model for high-end boutiques to follow when dealing with potential infringers who make superior products. Instead of filing lawsuits against them, we now see more infringers are either brought in-house or partnering, for example, the newly formed relationship between Supreme and Louis Vuitton. Dapper Dan's story, his contributions to fashion design and business have created a timeless legacy and a Cinderella story like no other.
