Dapper Dan Talks Black-Owned Luxury Fashion Brands, ‘Lost…

With roughly four months until the 2025 Met Gala, Dapper Dan shared his thoughts on the state of luxury fashion brands and inclusivity.

On Thursday (Jan. 16), the Harlem designer dedicated an Instagram post to 2025 Met Gala co-chairs Anna Wintour and Pharrell Williams, the late Virgil Abloh and Monica L. Miller, author of Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, which the upcoming Met Gala theme is based on.

Dapper began by highlighting his ongoing partnership with Gucci, in addition to Abloh’s and Williams’ collaborations with Louis Vuitton. “Those two global giants are in the industry world of brands have vigorously [showcased] our cultural fashion influence and other brands have followed their lead,” Dapper wrote.

He then pointed out Gucci’s use of blackface, presumably noting their 2019 wool sweater, was a “serious” mistake in marketing to the culture. “That marketing disaster created an opportunity for dialogue that could have led to meaningful advancement in the fashion luxury space,” he continued. He added that LV and Gucci’s DEI initiatives were missed opportunities to connect with other luxury brands due to “so much energy” being “lost on negative reaction.”

“The influencers turn our people away from the brands instead of using that energy to increase our presence in the global luxury market,” he expressed. As a result of this, Dapper noted that DEI initiatives have been “lost” and asserted that the “creative fashion community” is to “blame” for the “lost momentum for not using our collective voice.”

“Fashion creatives must be able to infiltrate (not just integrate) the fashion brands to learn how to build our own luxury brands,” Dapper continued.

In an effort not to let “outsiders speak for us,” Dapper called the upcoming Met Gala a “great cultural moment.”

“Let’s use all of our creative energy to capitalize off the moment with fashion events throughout the city,” Dapper said. “Let’s build our voice by elevating our presence in our community. OUR FATE MUST BE IN OUR HANDS.”

Dapper referenced the 2019 Gucci scandal in the same year during an appearance on The Breakfast Club, urging the brand to “have us in the room,” as seen around the 41-minute mark below.

“When people appropriate our culture, they make mistakes,” he tells the show’s hosts. “So my approach to them was, ‘you got to have us in the room. We got to be a part of this so these things don’t happen.'”

Co-chaired by Wintour, Williams, A$AP Rocky, Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo and LeBron James as honorary co-chair, the Met Gala returns to New York City on May 5, 2025.