MET TO THE STREETS: HOW DAPPER DAN GOT DONE DIRTY

At this year’s Met Gala, the tailoring was the talk of the town. While the blue carpet couture had Twitter threads and TikToks buzzing, some of the real roots of Black fashion were overlooked again. Enter: Dapper Dan. 

The Harlem legend who pioneered luxury streetwear long before fashion houses dared to was in attendance so there’s no time like the present to give him his flowers. Dapper Dan turned high fashion into high culture, flipping Gucci, Fendi, and Louis Vuitton into bold, unapologetic statements on Black identity. 

Dapper Dan was the original designer of the streets. In the '80s, rappers, hustlers, and cultural pioneers rocked his made-to-order designs before the luxury houses caught on. You see the same rhythm play out in South Africa, where Skhothane culture was the street version of dressing to impress, often in vibrant, clashing designer fits. That movement was dismissed as “excessive” or “silly,” instead of being studied for its fashion rebellion, cultural expression, and storytelling. 

So when we talk about fashion that moves the needle, we need to remember where the movement started. From Harlem to the Kasi, from Dap’s atelier to the sidewalks, the street has always been the blueprint. Fashion doesn’t just trickle down from the Met, it marches up from the street. And until we truly honour that, we’ll keep mistaking costumes for culture.