Dapper Dan is a massively inspiring figure to me, he’s the perfect example of someone who merges Hip Hop and fashion, in a completely authentic manner. In the late eighties and early nineties, Dapper Dan was at his peak, he was the creative that designed and produced most of the custom fashion gear seen on the majority of rappers in New York at the time. Dan was based in Harlem, born and raised, creating custom jackets, shoes and various other garms. You could take him anything, say ‘I want a Chanel car’ and he would have the skills and mind to construct it.

He created the MCM Jeep for Big Daddy Kane in the nineties, if you were a rapper at that time and worth your salt, you had something made by Dapper Dan. As a designer he would make the most incredible bootleg fashion, which is why I think he’s so sick. I love bootleg fashion, it’s actually a very neglected and under-appreciated form of fashion. Anyone making counterfeit goods that look as good as the designers do, earn massive respect from me. The fact that Dapper Dan was creating products and garments with ideas and inspiration from things you could only dream of, is something to be admired and appreciated.

Unfortunately, he later got sued by a lot of the fashion brands that became aware of the fact he was making counterfeit versions of what they were making, but couldn’t make- I didn’t see Louis Vuitton making a Louis Vuitton print car. Even with the Fiat Gucci car, I feel as though that wouldn’t have happened had it not been for Dapper Dan. He was the brainchild of fashion collabs. When you get these contemporary mad fashion collaborations nowadays, I feel like they’re almost the grandchildren of what Dapper Dan’s creations were.

I think that Dapper Dan should be so highly regarded for his imagination his creativity and the fact that he could make something out of anything. Instead, he got sued and went out of business; his legal fees were so high because he was going up against conglomerate empires. It is really sad to think this guy wasn’t respected for what he was doing when he should have been. For me Dapper Dan is a hero and someone I could only dream of having make something for me. One day, when I can afford it, I hope I can go to him for a Chanel car. I definitely need something Dapper Dan in my life.

I’ve always dreamt of finding someone in New York who has all these priceless items and doing some kind of Dapper Dan museum, which could also function as my wardrobe. He’s a person that I feel has done so much for music and fashion and just hasn’t been appreciated.