Fashion spotlight shines again for ’80s designer Dapper Dan

NEW YORK — In hiphop’s golden era, the artists responsible for rap’s distinctive sound went to Harlem fashion designer Dapper Dan for the period’s equally distinctive look.

Now the fashion groundbreaker, who spent more than two decades out of the public eye, is back.

He’s got a partnership with Gucci and the likes of Beyoncé among those wearing his designs, like the logoed jacket that is part of her costumes in her current tour with her husband, Jay-Z.

It’s a situation Dapper Dan calls “amazing” and that observers say is a reflection of how hip-hop and street style have influenced global fashion, with him among the innovators.

The couturier, whose real name is Daniel Day, now has a Gucci-sponsored workshop in a Harlem brownstone, not far from the now-closed 125th Street boutique that once clothed Salt-N-Pepa, Eric B. & Rakim and LL Cool J.

Dapper Dan’s outfits in the 1980s were original designs embossed with designer logos from Gucci, Fendi and Louis Vuitton among others — without the brands’ permission.

He saw the pull of luxury and brand names and came up with the idea of putting the logos people coveted from bags and luggage on clothes.

His logo-draped fabrics also were used in everything from suits to car interiors, in styles and silhouettes the labels weren’t doing.

“This is kind of the story of hip-hop,” said Erik Nielson, an associate professor at the University of Richmond, in Richmond, Virginia, who teaches African-American pop culture. “Dapper Dan took something that was there. He arguably made it better. … He showed the brands all these possibilities it’s clear they had never really considered.”