dapper dan
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Guess What? The Telfar Tribe Was Never Going to Allow Guess to Appropriate the Designer's Iconic Bag
If you’re in the market, no doubt you dipped on over to Telfar Global’s site today to cop one of the designer’s coveted shopping bags though his “Bag Security II” program. After all, it’s one of the rare opportunities to pre-order the cult-favorite tote, circumventing the typical grab-one-while-they-last color-coded drops that typically result in disappointment,…
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#RespectTheArchitects: How Misa Hylton Helped Make Hip Hop a Fashion Statement
If you were lucky enough to witness the rise of hip hop from its genesis *raises hand*, then you know there is a “before,” and an “after.” Specifically, there was hip hop before it met and married the world of fashion, and hip hop after its union, in which the era of Kangols, Adidas, 8-Ball…
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TGU50: The Dap Award
The category is: Icon. There are designers, there are influencers, there are activists…and then, there are changemakers. The innovative couturier fondly known as Dapper Dan is all that and more. Like Madam C.J. Walker, the historic black icon and heroine of Netflix’s upcoming series Self Made, Dapper Dan’s enterprising genius and ingenuity propelled him from…
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Honest Question: Who Needs Fashion Week When We've Got Harlem's Fashion Row?
As I write this, Fall/Winter Fashion Week 2020 is in full swing in New York City, and I am happily sitting this one out. Between the events, the exhaustion, the expense, and the pure chaos, I really only have the bandwidth and stamina to brave it all in September. (Honestly, it takes all of awards…
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Because Opportunity Shouldn’t Be a Luxury, Gucci Announces Its Inaugural Changemaker Grants
When it comes to diversifying the fashion industry, “change” is more than a buzzword; it’s a moral imperative if the historically exclusive arena is to evolve. Last year, Gucci, along with many other luxury brands, was forced to confront its own missteps in creating “diversity and inclusion,” both by hiring a dynamic new head of D&I…
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Eddie Murphy and Lizzo Didn’t Just Bring Big Ratings to SNL; a Few Black Designers Got a Boost, Too
The ratings are in, and Eddie Murphy’s return to hosting Saturday Night Live with music from breakout star Lizzo was a massive success, giving the 44-year-old sketch comedy show its best ratings in two years. But show creator and producer Lorne Michaels wasn’t the only one who got a boost on Saturday night; both Lizzo and…
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Proving ‘Diversity & Inclusion’ Are in Fashion, Chanel Hires Its 1st Head of D & I—but Not a Person of Color
Often, the best way to confront a scandal is to avoid creating one in the first place. After a flurry of major brands—including Gucci, Prada and H&M—quickly scrambled to create diversity-focused positions, boards and initiatives following major gaffes in cultural insensitivity, Chanel, which has thus far avoided being named in a recent racial scandal (and…
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Made in Harlem: Dapper Dan Releases a Memoir and Talks to The Glow Up About His New Mission
He was born “the poorest of Harlem’s poor” in 1944, and spent decades hustling before breaking into a legitimate trade. Nearly 75 years later, his designs for Gucci were the ones to be seen in at this year’s Met Gala. He launched “logomania” before it became a phrase, disrupting luxury fashion by infusing it with…
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The Glow Up Goes to NOLA, Day 4: Maybe My Mascara Should Run for President
No, Michelle Obama is not running for president, y’all. But we all know that if she did have the inclination, she’d have the coveted black female vote on lock. In fact, of all the headliners in Essence Festival weekend, it was our forever first lady who packed the Louisiana Superdome to the rafters when she…