Dapper Dan and GAP are back with new hoodies (plus more) for the holiday season. Oh, happy days.
Dapper Dan's latest DAP GAP collection comes to us as an 18-piece collection of apparel and accessories for the whole fam. That's right. Kids eat, too (it's the first DAP GAP delivery for the children, by the way).
"This is exciting for me because we are now offering products for kids for the first time. I have a commitment to instilling hope in the young people who are coming up behind me, and I want them to see who I am and what I've accomplished, so being able to dress all generations, including the kids, is very meaningful to me," Dapper Dan said to me.
Dapper Dan's DAP GAP collection offers up new DAP GAP hoodies, some realized with "DAP" monograms and houndstooth designs. It instantly reminded me of Dapper Dan's famous designs — playing with luxury logos and creating entirely new pieces never before seen, attracting the attention of hip-hop greats like LL Cool J and Biggie Smalls.
Like his earlier pieces, which catapulted him into fashion fame, Dapper Dan's GAP collection is but another moment of the designer spreading his work, allowing folks to enjoy a Dapper Dan creation...well, if you can cop. It was a battle copping the first hoodie drop, but I prevailed.
"Working with GAP allows me to be a personification of my culture and spread that personification around the world. I made history with GAP by bringing my culture to the masses and the world, making the collection accessible to those who have followed and supported me over the years."
In addition to new hoodies, DAP GAP also features pleated track pants, a baseball cap, a silky scarf, a tote bag, and socks. Winter-worthy hues of green, brown, black, and cream dress the pieces, and some also got the monogram treatment like the hooded sweatshirts.
Like his previous GAP drop, Dapper Dan's newest DAP GAP release is another love letter to his home, Harlem, New York. The neighborhood's name even appears again under the unmistakable DAP GAP logo.
Dapper Dan and GAP naturally enlist Harlem's finest to star in the campaign, including Melba Wilson, Felipe Luciano, Khary Lazarre-White and Jason Warwin, Giannina Oteto, Starr Williams & Grey Iona, Alberth Johnson, Gabriela Lopez Castillo, Chaz Anthony, and Malaye Diakhate.
"Community and culture are incredibly important to me, and partnering with GAP provides me an opportunity to give the culture and Harlem a global platform. I was born and raised in Harlem and am constantly inspired by all the components that make up Harlem," Dapper Dan says.
"You will see quite a few Harlem changemakers in the campaign, from Melba, who is active in the community and the owner of iconic Melba's Restaurant, to Felipe, who has done important work in journalism and activism, to Khary and Jason, who are the founders of BroSis and positively impacting the youth. It was important for me to showcase those making positive contributions to the community and bring them into the spotlight with GAP."
The Harlem native designer is again offering first dibs to his birthplace, with DAP GAP dropping first at GAP Harlem on December 4. Dapper Dan will be in the building, greeting fans in case any Harlem residents want to meet the legend.
Dapper Dan and GAPs's DAP GAP collection will later release on GAP's website on December 5 and in select stores. A collection this big deserves more than one drop.
After selling out, restocking, and selling out of their immensely popular hoodies last year, Dapper Dan and GAP take things up a notch with their biggest drop yet. When I say big, I'm talking literally and figuratively.
Not only does the collection consist of 18 pieces, but it once again puts Harlem on the map and speaks to Dapper Dan's design legacy. Though neither need no introduction for their contributions to the culture, DAP GAP makes it a big deal, and rightfully so.
"This is my largest collection with GAP to date, showcasing how monumental this collab is in culture. This collaboration is a global tsunami of culture." Indeed, it is.
