“I think it’s ridiculous for people to say they were burning their clothes. It helped, too, that Naomi Campbell was vocal about her support. It wasn’t appropriation it was an homage to me.”Īnd with that announcement, Gucci, for all intents and purposes, was back in fashion’s good graces. I wanted people to recognize Dapper on the catwalk. “I didn’t put a caption on it because it was so clear. “For me, we can talk about appropriation a lot,” Michele said to The New York Times about the presentation.

The first major controversy to hit the brand with Michele at the helm was when he sent a Gucci-branded puff-sleeved jacket down the cruise ’18 runway - a piece that riffed on a design by Daniel Day, or “Dapper Dan,” a Harlem-based designer who, ironically, made a name for himself in the ’80s and ’90s for masterminding counterfeit creations from designer logos. “It appears that Gucci has built a tremendous amount of brand affinity with its customers, which has so far allowed it to navigate these firestorms with minimal apparent reputational damage.” The consequences can potentially be significant, and it can take years to recover,” said Chris Gee, managing director of digital strategy at PR firm Finsbury. “For a brand, reputation is at risk whenever there is a backlash on social media. In four years, he’s become an invincible force who can seemingly do no wrong - so much so that even when his missteps are put in the global spotlight and garner a sweeping backlash on social media, Gucci continues to be in demand. Jared Leto, muse and friend of the label, called him the “ Steve Jobs of fashion” for his boundary-pushing creativity. Last year, it was reported that Gucci aimed “to reach 10 million euros in annual sales and replace LVMH’s Louis Vuitton as the world’s biggest luxury label.”įashion watchers have celebrated Michele’s rise. In Q4 of 2018, Gucci accounted for 80% of parent company Kering’s portfolio, with a sales increase of 24.2%, totaling $4.29 billion. With so many years in the game, he remains a culture leader, but he has stayed true to himself, and that will never go out of style.Lindsey Vonn Blossoms in Gucci Corset & Heeled Thong Sandals at Lauryn Hill Concert Now, he has a groundbreaking collaboration collection with Gucci. His influence extends far past his defining style he opened the first couture atelier ever in Harlem and stood up to racial discrimination in the fashion industry. I realized in watching Dan how truly inspiring he was-he never stopped working and always remained diligent to his craft. Then I began to see iconic looks from his creative mind on artists such as Big Daddy Kane and Salt-N-Pepa, and even on boxers like Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather. and Rakim’s album Paid in Full-they were refreshing, a blend of hood and expensive.

The first outfits of his that I remember were on the cover of Eric B. According to him, dapper no longer belonged just to Wall Street and business professionals Dan claimed the term for the Black community. He defined fashion in “the hood” and in celebrity culture. Dapper Dan is the blueprint for our culture in hip-hop.

Dapper dan gucci