Gucci has been accused of stealing iconic Harlem designer Dapper Dan’s most notable looks in their 2018 Resort collection.
In the 1980’s Dapper Dan revolutionised fashion through creating custom outfits, fusing high fashion prints – Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci, etc. – with ostentatious street wear.
1988 Dapper Dan designed one of his most well known looks for Olympic medalist Diane Dixon; A fur jacket with ballooned sleeves made from Louis Vuitton’s trademark fabric.
This design was replicated on Gucci’s 2018 Resort runway, with Gucci’s material being used for the sleeves instead.
The resemblance is too coincidental and twitter users are calling out designer Alessandro Michele for the blatantly plagiarising Dapper Dan’s design, as there was no acknowledgement or homage to Dapper Dan previously inventing this look.
Is Gucci gonna, say, pay Dapper Dan to license that design? Or is it just one of those feel-good unpaid homages on which businesses thrive
— Matthew Schneier (@MatthewSchneier) May 30, 2017
Sorry Alessandro but Dapper Dan is gonna need his credit pic.twitter.com/O7tkjOgIjV
— j (@gucciandior) May 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/IDressAndRest/status/869690014094860292
In this age of social media where everyone is watching over everyone else, you can bet if you steal or rip off a design, people are going to call you out for it. Gucci have yet to release a statement.
