Go Inside Dapper Dan’s Gucci Atelier With Naomi Campbell
Dapper Dan x Naomi Campbell
“I’m still amazed by the fact that Gucci came to Harlem,” says Dapper Dan. “I went to Gucci and found something,” he continues, referencing his career-long obsession with the double Gs, “and Gucci came to Harlem and found something.” That something Gucci found would be Dapper Dan’s true genius. Born Daniel Day in New York, the designer is one of the most renowned creators of the 20th century. From his store on 125th Street, he created fantastic pieces inspired by, but not directly referencing, designer clothing. Day has made a Gucci car and a Louis Vuitton tracksuit, all while trying to sidestep the FBI, which was determined to shut down what it saw as a counterfeiting operation. Anyone with any sense could tell you that what Day does is not make knockoffs—he calls them “knock-ups.” The patterns or references might be from luxury fashion, but the application and the creativity are all his own.
After a rumble with Gucci, in which the brand may or may not have knocked off his famous Louis Vuitton coat for Diane Dixon, Day decided to partner with the Italian luxury house on a new atelier. The space is in a townhouse on Lenox Avenue and is about as posh as it gets. A sitting room is filled with plush leather couches, velvet curtains, historic chandeliers, and custom wallpaper featuring Gucci’s full cast of animal creatures. Day dresses to match in a silvery suit, tie, and pearl-studded Gucci glasses.
“Before we even get to the aesthetics that evolve from Alessandro [Michele], you really have to talk about Alessandro,” Day begins. “The more I learned about him as time passed, the more connected I felt.” It’s true that Michele and Day have similar approaches to fashion, mixing together a diaspora of references to make something more magical than what had existed before. As Day tells it, his process is borne from the necessity to be seen in a society where black creators, and black culture, are underrepresented. “I see what I did . . . as a part of a necessity to say I am, we too. . . . We had to be who we are and create this aesthetic to create this enrichment of who we are and give us pride.”
Day’s work has long had support in and out of the fashion world. In the ’80s and ’90s, his atelier was frequented by Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, and Mike Tyson. Today, the clientele includes DJ Khaled, Salma Hayek (who wore a Dapper Dan piece to the Vanity Fair Oscar party), and Naomi Campbell. “I’ve known Naomi since she was 19,” says Day. “Her presence here is symbolic. I met her when I was starting out and she was starting out, and now we’re at this height, finally, and so it was so exciting to talk to her about when she started out, what it felt like, and today, what does it feel like, what has that journey been like? It was like parallel roads that finally came together to experience and talk about what it was like.”
Day admits that dressing the supermodel was daunting, if only because Campbell has the presence to pull off anything. “There’s this saying that I have: Everything on your mind might not look good on your behind,” he says with a laugh. “But with her, she’s a model. She’s this perfect lady. How could anything look bad on her?”
Together, Campbell and Day tried out a number of fabrics and patterns to find out what worked best. “She gave me certain options so I’m going to play around with those options and then see—and then secretly reveal to her what they are before we go into the sunlight in these things,” Day says. Chances are the final piece will be done soon—keep an eye on Campbell’s social media for the reveal.
