Gucci has partnered with legendary Harlem-based fashion designer Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day to create an atelier on Harlem’s Lenox Avenue.
The shop will be similar to Dap’s Dapper Dan Boutique, which closed in 1992, but with one key difference: Whereas Dap once took other brands’ goods and repurposed them, now Gucci will be providing him with materials to customize its goods.
The atelier is located in a four-story brownstone, complete with high ceilings, velvet partitions and photographs of Dap’s creations in the ’80s and ’90s.
Gucci announced the partnership in May, when one of its runway designs — a logo’d, puffer-sleeved jacket with a fur midsection — was compared to a Dapper Dan style from the ’80s. At the time, Gucci’s Instagram account called the design an homage to Dap.
Dap is excited about his partnership with the brand.
“Everyone paid homage to Dapper Dan, but no one ever paid him,” Dap said in a press release. “The people have spoken, and Gucci has listened. Nothing has been more significant in the Harlem cultural scene than Alessandro and Gucci coming to Harlem and partnering with Dapper Dan.”
Dap described his ascent in an emotional Instagram post.
“I went from selling clothes on a table on the sidewalks of Harlem, now l’m on my own giant billboard on a rooftop in Harlem. l went from having holes in my shoes as a child, now l wear Gucci loafers. l came from the poorest neighborhood in Harlem, now l have a brownstone in Harlem,” he wrote.
The atelier will focus on high-end bespoke customizations — representing a departure from the luxury streetwear styles that have been picked up by labels recently. The shop will open in January, and clients will be taken by appointment only. It will not offer any Gucci merchandise.
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