Fashion
Dapper Dan Is First Black Designer To Receive CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award
The iconic Harlem haberdasher has been making fashion history since the ’80s.
So, I’m a bit late to the party, but I had to drop this bit of news. The legendary Dapper Dan made history last week as the first-ever Black designer to win the CFDA’s Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. He received the honor Nov. 10 at the 2021 CFDA Fashion Awards in NYC.
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Dapper Dan has been a staple in street and hip hop fashion since the ’80s, designing looks for everyone from Salt ‘N Pepa, L.L. Cool J, and Roxanne Shanté to Megan Thee Stallion, Nick Cannon, and Beyoncé. Known for his inventive logo recreations of luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Gucci (which he has dubbed “logomania,” Dapper Dan went from being their fashion foe to a must-have collaborator. Especially after Gucci got called out for stealing his designs.
The win also makes the iconic Harlem haberdasher the first-ever designer to take home the prize without ever having a solo fashion show. But Dapper Dan says otherwise.
“The streets of Harlem have been my runway for 35 years,” he posted on Instagram. “Isn’t that where the major luxury brands got their inspiration from?”
Salut!
