#dapperdans

[higherpurps]

Made at Daps 🙌🏽❤️👑

[pagesbyara]

BEYOND THE SURFACE: An Oppositional Reading of the Gucci X Dapper Dan Collaboration

The fashion video was shot in Harlem by Gucci in 2018 and it featured Dapper Dan who is a fashion designer that was once ignored and rejected and in fact almost shut down. Back then, Dan Dapper was known for remixing luxury logos just to create bold fashion for the Black communities. Years later, Gucci copied his style and faced a backlash. Instead of then admitting and owning up to what they did, they went on to offer him a partnership. On the surface, the video looks like it is a win for Dapper and Harlem as a whole, but if looked into well, it looks more like a PR move instead of a real change. All of this  is not just fashion history, it is a case of who hold the power over whom.

The Stuart Hall’s encoding and decoding theory explains how messages are not received as they are intended. Audiences can decode media in different ways depending on their perspective. Hall outlines three types of reading: dominant, negotiated ad oppositional. The dominant reading of this video is that this is the success story of a black designer that once marginalized and is now elevated. Gucci is presented as if it is progressive, inclusive and socially aware. The visuals of Harlem and black models wearing luxury fashion passes across a message of empowerment. But taking an oppositional reading, the idea changes entirely. From this perspective, the video is not just a celebration or empowerment, it is a performance of inclusion that benefits the powerful more than people. Dapper Dan that was once shut down for using luxury brand logos, is now embraced only after his style became profitable for the brands that once rejected him. The system did not change out of growth, it changed out of necessity

In encoding this video, Gucci positions itself as a brand capable of listening, changing, and honoring culture. The fashion house still owns the means of production, distribution, and storytelling. Dapper Dan’s name may be on the atelier, but Gucci’s name is on the contract. The collaboration is a compromise, but the power imbalance remains. Furthermore, the idea that Dapper Dan’s legitimacy had to be confirmed by a European luxury house raises critical questions. Why was his work only considered valid once it was absorbed into Gucci’s structure? Another layer of oppositional reading involves the audience the video is meant for. While it features Black creatives and Harlem as a setting, the actual consumer audience for Gucci remains mostly the wealthy and global.

This ad video of Gucci and Dapper Dan is often praised as a luxury fashion giant finally embracing the work of a black designer that it once disregarded. From my standing, this collaboration is more about co-optation and less about justice. When viewed through the lens of Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model. I take a firmly oppositional reading of this media message. I do not accept Gucci’s narrative at face value. I do not see this video as an evidence of change, bu I see it as a reminder of how capitalism absorbs, repackages, and sells back black culture for its own benefit. Stuart Hall’s model tells us that media messages are usually encoded with specific meanings by the producers, which in this case is Gucci, and then decoded by the viewers. For this video, the dominant reading is quite simple, that fashion is inclusive now and Gucci has grown. But just as Stuart Hall has pointed out, there are several other ways to interpret a message, the negotiated or oppositional readings, and I am taking the oppositional route. What Gucci wants us to see as redemption, I see as repackaging and what they are selling as empowerment, I see as manipulation.

Dapper Dan is featured prominently in the campaign and is credited as a designer, but the structural hierarchy still remains intact. Gucci is still in control of the capital, distribution and also the global branding. Harlem might have been the setting, but the profits flow elsewhere. The atelier in Harlem becomes more of a symbolic showroom instead of a sign of true economic transfer of power. Although representation is important, it is not the same thing as redistribution. Including the faces of black people and using urban landscapes in marketing materials does not address the deeper inequalities of the fashion industry. An oppositional reading reveals this collaboration as a surface level reconciliation that leaves the deeper structures of exclusion untouched.

Although, the most striking part of the video, looking at it from an oppositional perspective, is the way it turned Harlem into a brand aesthetic. The visuals of the video are highly stylized which made the streets that were once associated with poverty and marginalization now imbued with beauty and high fashion allure. The video kind of asks the viewer to not only admire the culture in Harlem but to also consume it, and this is what Stuart Hall and other critics warn against. The transformation of lived experience into marketable image is just not the way to go. When Gucci presents Harlem through the lens of luxury, it sanitizes the real struggles and the barriers that are still affecting the community. Instead of using its platform to challenge inequality, Gucci decided to use culture as a content idea.

However, one of the dangers of collaborations such as this is that they can create an illusion of progress while leaving the oppressive systems intact. Gucci past missteps which includes the controversies over cultural appropriation and racist designs are easily covered for with a well-produced campaign. The presence of Dapper Dan serves as a shield, a way of signaling change without truly disrupting power structures.

To be honest, this video campaign is great PR. It helps Gucci to clean up it image after its previous cultural missteps. So, featuring Dapper Dan allows the brand to say that they are listening and they are evolving. But inclusion in an ad campaign is not the same as accountability. This about rebranding not necessarily reparations. I’m not saying that Dapper Dan should not take his seat at the table, he has earned it for himself and he deserves it. But I am simply saying like I said before that we should ask who’s table it is, who built it and who still controls it?

Stuart Hall’s model employs us to always ask harder questions and we should, it also  empowers us to resist easy narratives. If I wanted to accept the dominant reading, I’ll just be doing exactly what Gucci wants, seeing them as inclusive, progressive and evolved, but I know better. By taking this oppositional stance, I’m doing what Stuart Hall’s encourages us to do. In this situation, asking questions like, who benefits? Who’s being used? Considering the fact that Gucci wants to focus on the beauty of this moment, I cannot ignore its contradictions.

In conclusion, the Gucci and Dapper Dan’s video is full of symbolism, emotions and weight of history. It also offers a compelling narrative of cultural respect and creative genius. But below the beauty lies a more complicated truth. The usage of Stuart Hall’s encoding and decoding model, and also specially adopting the oppositional reading, it reveals how media can disguise power under the guise of progress. All in all, this collaboration is not just about fashion, it is also about who controls the narrative, who reaps the benefits, and how systems of power adapt in order to survive. As viewers, readers and even consumers, we must look beyond the surface. And in doing so, we will uncover the truth that real progress is not just about representation, it is redistribution, reparation and radical change.

[thebossishere]

#DapperDan #METGala2025

[melfaria23]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Gucci Dapperdan Sneakers.

[clubstyleeurope]

#cse • @dany_by2 Dapper down👇🏼 with no frown how bout that? …All for a good cause 😁🤙🏼 (PS: Wearing my daughter’s gifted HOT SAUCE Socks! 🥵 😅) . . . @gentlemansride . . . . . . . . . . 📸 @laz.moto 🙏🏼👌🏼 . . . . . . #gentlemanstyle #fxdls #suited #dapperday #dapper #dapperdans #harleydavidson #harleylife #harleylovers #rideordie #2wheels #passion #harley #dgr #dgr2022 #cse #motorcycleofinstagram #mylife #findyourfreedom #clubstyledyna #luckydaves #2wheellife #suitstyle #harleyofinstagram #harleylowriders #customharley #dynasofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CeA_DoIIDoU/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[conquestable]

ugh chingy into dapperdan, uugghghhhh

getting into onepointfive this morning and the way dr whoever gets me

[mamarailmarissa]

Have you done the Easter egg hunt at Walt Disney World? We popped over to Epcot to give it a try on Monday for the last day of Spring Break and had a ball. There is a different character egg to look for in each country of World Showcase and if you buy a game board for $7.99 (less any applicable discounts) you can match the egg with the correct location on the board and redeem for a cute character egg of your own to bring home. The park was out of Mickey and Minnie on Monday afternoon, so my kids received Chip and Dale for their efforts. Which character would you choose? . . . . . . . . . #chipanddale #rescuerangers #disneyeaster #disneyeastereggs #doubletrouble #disneytopiaries #epcot #epcotflowerandgardenfestival #epcotdisney #easteregghunt #disneyparks #disneyactivities #dapperdans #egghunt #disneyegghunt #eggstravaganza #scavengerhunt #waltdisneyworld #chipmunks #gardengrill #disneycharacters #disney2021 #easter2021 #disneymemories #springbreak2021 #disneyspringbreak #disneynow #disneyflowers #disneytraditions #disneyannualpassholder (at 2021 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival) https://www.instagram.com/p/CM_DFxqhzGm/?igshid=ou2hq7waacyi

[allesgeschaft]

DMX voice is / will always remain powerful. Real Legends never Die 🖤🖤🖤 . . . . ( Now Available ) #clickthelinkinmybio . . . . #allesgeschaft #everythingbusiness #nothingpersonal #97blackout #moneyonmymind #luxuryfashion #clothingbrand #embroiderys #heatpress #dapperdans #akademiks #theshaderoom #thebreakfastclub #fendi #gucci #blackownedclothing #hustle247 #staywoke #everythingisbusiness #chessnotcheckers #nike #dmx #yeezy #tidal #tiktok (at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNeK9fOnbO8/?igshid=1bdmizktob6dv

[higherpurps]

Dapper Dan talks about shopping for his first suit with his dad ❤️

[theamandacollection67]

#foundphoto #vintagephoto #oldphoto #vintagegentlemen #vintagesnapshot #vintageoutdoors #dapperdans #vintagemen #astheywere #thepast https://www.instagram.com/p/CB_WI9SAp4W/?igshid=3rj562qfaspv

[rgrrabbit1]

The Dapper Dans perform at Coke Corner! Join them for fun, singing, and dancing! It’s a nice way to enjoy some great entertainment! #DapperDans #CokeCorner #MainStreet #DisneyParksEntertainment #Disneyland #HappiestPlace #DisneyFan #DisneyFun #DisneyLove #DisneyLife #DisneyGeek #DisneyMagic https://www.instagram.com/p/B04MLoxAMuX/?igshid=14sfgr6pcr2x

[porgsandpops]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bonnie L. (@porgsandpops)

Another video from our #disneyvacation. Peggy really enjoyed the Dapper Dans barbershop quartet at Magic Kingdom. #porg #peggytheporg #porgs #porgsofinstagram #waltdisneyworld #magickingdom #barbershopquartet #dapperdansofmainstreet #dapperdans #dapperdansofmagickingdom https://www.instagram.com/p/BuOlodRjaNV/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15awmlpn7rpf1

[ericstoons]

#disneylandartwatch from several years back. #disneyland #dapperdans #barbershopquartet #mainstreetusa #mickeymouse #illustration #cartoon #gouache #disney https://www.instagram.com/p/Brc7FNZHFoc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=116cv2kxzod2m

[melfaria23]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: COPY - Gucci Dapperdan Sneakers.

[vintagethreadsaddict]

Already choking from the smoke - but this is one cool photo from the late 1930’s #vintagecowboy #vintagefashion #cowboys #cigar #dapperdans #cowboyhats #prewwii (at Mount Vernon, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoCEa8tOEv3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[biggathreat]

@teacha_krsone #BiggaThreat #DapperDans #tbt https://www.instagram.com/p/CmTKZY_uq5w/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=