DAY DESIGNER SAMPLE PAGE PROFESSIONAL

Dan states that he would never design anything that the luxury fashion houses would think of because his designs were too cutting edge. Dapper Dan referred to his designer inspired designs as knock-ups, as he felt they were too extravagant to be called knock-offs.

Dan himself couldn't sew and did not consider himself a tailor, despite how the media depicted him, but eventually he found a team he worked well with. Despite his connections, Dapper Dan struggled finding pattern makers and seamstresses that could properly execute his designs. This is what essentially inspired him to make his infamous jacket for Diane Dixon. He noticed designers like Louis Vuitton and Gucci were only bags, wallets and luggage out of leather, but he wanted to make garments out of leather. Fred the Furrier became Dan's fur wholesale supplier, and Fred's brother was the one that persuaded Dan to expand into leather goods. Irving Chaiken, Dapper Dan's friend, taught Dan different manufacturing techniques for furs, ranging from chinchilla to fox. Selling his own furs was a way for Dan to get away from his old lifestyle, and he began designing furs specifically because they were a Harlem fashion staple. He would go to the public library in Midtown to study fashion and symbols, thus where he became inspired by the power of timeless logos. Instead of purchasing outfits to sell, he began teaching himself as much as he could about the industry so he could create his own designs from scratch. He struggled to buy the textiles and furs he needed, as most companies refused to do business with him because of his race or location. When working with a new client, he would ask himself 'Who are they?' and 'What do they want?' ĭan originally planned to be a clothing wholesaler but soon faced prejudice as he ventured out. Additionally, he was an observer and approached his designs from a psychological point of view. Dan's previous disciplines are also what prepared him to simultaneously be a creative director and businessman.

DAY DESIGNER SAMPLE PAGE PROFESSIONAL

Being a professional gambler taught him that what you wear will influence how people interact with you, so he used this unspoken language in his designs.

Dan approached his designs through personal experience, specifically from his previous jobs. Dapper Dan's Boutique, located on 125th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues, opened in 1982, and at times was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When Dan returned to New York in 1974, he decided to be a clothier, and first sold shoplifted items out of his car. In 1968–74, he toured Africa as part of a program from Columbia University and the Urban League. He eventually became a vegetarian and gave up drinking, smoking and drugs. In the 1960s, Dan worked for a Harlem newspaper called Forty Acres and a Mule, as he initially wanted to be a writer. He soon went back to school due to a program sponsored by Urban League and Columbia University. Malcom X said, 'If you want to understand the flower, study the seed,' and studying at Countee Cullen Library. ĭapper Dan got tired of the street life after listening to a Malcom X speech. By age 13, he was a skilled gambler his success as a gambler helped him finance his first store. He recalls horses and buggies still on the streets in his early childhood, in the post- World War II days of Manhattan. All nine of them lived in a three bedoom apartment. His father, Robert, was a civil servant and his mother, Lily, a homemaker. He grew up on 129th and Lexington Avenue with three brothers and three sisters. Dan was born in Harlem, New York, in 1944, and he was born at home with his grandmother as a midwife.

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