September 8, 2023 • 21 mins
New York Fashion Week hits the runway this week! Desi does a deep dive unpacking the history of NY Fashion Week, Dulcé talks about cultural appropriation in fashion, and Roy highlights Black trailblazers in the fashion industry. Also, Trevor sits down with iconic fashion designer, Dapper Dan.
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Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Comedy Central. Now.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
It's New York Fashion Week, the semi annual event when
designers show their collections to the world so fast fashion
brands can decide which styles to rip off. But unlike
wet subway seats, fashion Week hasn't always been a New
York institution. It's had a long walk down the runway
to get where it is today. It all started in
France in the sixteen hundreds, which might not surprise you,
(00:36):
but back then Paris was very much not known for fashion.
The French were about as stylish as a croc wearing
a fanny pack. At that time, Madrid was actually the
fashion capital of the world, and thanks to their tiny tapas,
they could actually fit into all the sample sizes. But
everything changed for France when Louis the fourteenth was, you know,
King of Fid. Louis turned France into a major power,
(00:58):
and he wanted the thread.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
To show it.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
For him, fashion was essential to the monarchy's prestige. I mean,
no one wants to be executed by a guy wearing
cargo shorts. Louis's obsession built up France's fashion and textile
industry and soon turned Paris into the world center of fashion,
which by default made it the world center of cocaine
and bitchy gossip as well. It was under Louis that
(01:21):
France established the idea of showing fall designs in the
spring and spring designs in the fall. So you can
thank him for that trendy coat you're wearing in August.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Ooh, who new.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Fauforurt was so hot. France continued to dominate the fashion
industry for centuries until World War Two, when Paris was
under German occupation. This grinded their fashion influence to a
halt because A no one could come to Paris to shop,
and b Coco Chanelle was too busy banging Nazis to
make any clothes. I know, terrible right, But no matter
(01:55):
how many times I remind them of this, the boutique
still won't give me a discount on a classic flat.
But Paris's defeat turned out to be a win for
the American fashion industry. The US seized on the opportunity
to fill that gap quicker than a forever twenty one
dress falls apart in the laundry. In nineteen forty three,
America held the first Fashion Week, or as it was
(02:17):
known then press Week, started by a publicist Eleanor Lambert.
It launched the careers of designers like Hattie Carnegie, Norman Morrel,
and Claire mccardal, whose claim to fame was inventing sportswear.
And by sportswear, I mean any casual clothing, not the
athleisure that you wear even though your main exercise is
getting a caramel frap in the Starbucks drive through three
(02:39):
four I oh whoo.
Speaker 5 (02:46):
Ah.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Standard is tough. Before press Week, magazines like Vogue and
Harper's Bazaar were really all about European designers. They treated
American designers the way they treated the Kardashians in twenty
ten they ignored them. But once press Weeek started, they
treated American fashion like, well, the Kardashians. Now, she said
(03:08):
she'd eat poop to look good?
Speaker 6 (03:11):
Should I eat poop?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
New York Fashion Week became such an institution that fashion
capitals like Paris, London and Milan soon added their own versions,
and they continue pushing the fashion envelope to this day.
You could only get away with severed heads in Milan.
If that was on a New York runway, everyone would
just assume it was another murder. As time passed, New
York Fashion Week became home of so many seminal moments,
(03:39):
like in the fifties when James Galano's popularized feminine glamour,
or Adolfo, who gained fame in the sixties for his
emphasis on accessories. And in the seventies, Norma Kamali introduced
a sleeping bag coat, although if you just wear your
kid's sleeping bag, it looks almost good. As styles changed,
(04:06):
so did fashion week itself. In the seventies and eighties,
it turned into a NonStop party. Shows were held at
nightclubs and celebrities started attending. By the early two thousands,
celebs had become a permanent mainstay. Sarah Jessica Parker, Paris Hilton.
Everyone was there, and that Hollywood glamour is still present
to this day.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
But what was Larry.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
David doing in the front row? He looked so miserable
to be there. He should have been on the catwalk.
Through the years, Fashion Week has had different homes in
the city, from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center, but the
most important place it's moved to in recent years is
the same place you get all your porn the internet
shows started live streaming, and designers began inviting bloggers and
(04:49):
influencers to events. This all democratized fashion and made it
more accessible to the public. Or at least that's what
I tell my therapist when we're working through my online
shopping addiction. I'm broke. New York Fashion Week hasn't just
reflected the changing technology, It's also held a mirror up
to society. From designers responding to the Me Too movement
(05:10):
to the ongoing fight for more racial diversity on the runway,
New York's been the site of progress for trans models,
disabled models, and body positivity, which is kind of the
least the fashion industry could do after telling women not
to eat for the last one hundred years. So now
you know everything about New York Fashion Week and how
it came to be and how it's changing for the better. Now,
(05:30):
if you'll excuse me, I have some poop to eat.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Here we go.
Speaker 6 (05:43):
Today is the official s Thoughts of New York Fashion Week, or,
as New York has called it, Thursday for more. Please
welcome to the show, our newest daily show correspondent. Do'll
say sloan everybody.
Speaker 7 (06:01):
Thanks Drev. Yes, it's fashion Week, And while we'll.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
See some new looks.
Speaker 7 (06:05):
Some things will never change. For example, we know at
least one model will fail at her only job walking
down the runway, and that some designers going to try
to sell us clothes they fished out of a dumpster.
But the thing MM that GA's the most attention every
year is the cultural appropriation that never goes out of style.
Speaker 6 (06:27):
Well, do say, for people who don't know, can you
explain what cultural appropriation is?
Speaker 7 (06:31):
Sure, it's when you take something that divines the culture
that you're not a part of and profit off of it.
The fashion industry does it all the time. They take
from black culture, Native Americans, Asia, you name it. I
mean the models even appropriate their body dimensions from the
aliens and clothes encounters.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (06:48):
Yeah, yeah, But you'll say, to be fair, not all
instances of cultural appropriation are that extreme.
Speaker 7 (06:53):
Well, yeah, that's true. Not every person who listens to
rap or Where's a Kimono? Or sings the chorus to Desposito,
it's trying to steal someone else's culture.
Speaker 6 (07:02):
Let's put you here because I love singing Desposito.
Speaker 7 (07:06):
Well, you can definitely sing it because you know you
look like a Puerto Rican.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Ohl.
Speaker 7 (07:15):
But sometimes across the line, like when you get movies
about white boys saving jazz or Miley Cyrus.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Twerkin' ugh hell.
Speaker 7 (07:24):
Cultural appropriation is the only thing Taylor and Katie can't
agree on.
Speaker 6 (07:28):
Okay, okay, But some people look at some of these
examples and they sing, why the fuss.
Speaker 7 (07:33):
Because, Trevor is when white people discover something that used
to be considered ghetto.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
For example, look at big butts. I always try to
thank you.
Speaker 7 (07:57):
Big butts used to be considered undesired, but since the
Kardashians bought all of theirs, now everybody wants one. Ooh,
and don't get me started on dreadlocks. When black people
have them, they're discriminated against, they even get fired over it.
But when white people have them, clothes fly off the racks.
Look at this, this is a fashion shower.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
She a avatar? Wait, go back? Was that Kendall Jenna?
Speaker 7 (08:20):
Baby, It's always Kendle Jenna.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (08:23):
Well, you know what they'll say, I'm gonna I'm gonna lie.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
I hear you.
Speaker 6 (08:25):
And this is interesting because for me, it's weird. Where
I come from, cultural appropriation isn't really a big deal,
right My My family's always trying to get my white
friends to wear African clothes. They don't view it as
white people trying to steal our culture. They think they're
embracing it.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 7 (08:38):
And that's the attitude they got my ancestors over here.
These white men are trying to steal us, they're embracing us.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Come on, go get on this boat. Okay, no, no,
but the way. But it's not just Africa. When Beyonce
did that video where she.
Speaker 6 (08:50):
Dressed up like an Indian goddess, right, people here were upset,
but in India a lot of people loved it.
Speaker 7 (08:55):
Okay, not travl Beyonce is a bad example because she's
a lotteral goddess. Come on, forget culture. Beyonce is so
my identity. I wouldn't even press charges. I'd be like,
thank you, this is a honor. Look, Trevor, this is
(09:15):
about equality. If minorities were equal, they wouldn't worry about
people taking their culture because that wouldn't be all they have. Look,
white people, if you're gonna appropriate take everything, take the
good and the bad.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
You can take my struggle to get pulled.
Speaker 7 (09:29):
Over for no reason, get followed through a store and
the next time there's a Black Lives Matter march. I
want to see you there, kindle, but don't worry about
bringing that pepsi. Girl, We drink spry, ju say slow
and everybody.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Huh. Welcome to c P Time, the only show that's
for the culture. Today, we'll be discussing black contributions to fashion. Normally,
when we think about black fashion, we think about church
hats so big they block your view of Jesus. Or
we think about those soups that Steve Harvey wears had
haul all the buttons, leave some buttons for the rest
(10:14):
of us. Steve, they'd keep them my clothes together with staples.
But in actuality, the world of fashion has been filled
with influential and iconic African American designers, like our first trailblazer,
Zelda Wynn Valdez, who was one of the first designers
whose clothing accentuated women's curves. Before her, women's fashion covered
(10:35):
up their figures with big ass skirts the size of
a carnival cruise ship. Women would get lost just bending
over to tie the shoes. Zelda's curve flowing designs were
so popular that Hugh Hefferner asked her to design the
iconic outfit for the Playboy Bunnies. I never went to
the Playboy Mansion myself because I was married, and I
(10:57):
also have a severe phobia of rabbits. I never know
where rabbits are hiding, and if you can pull one
out of a hat, you can pull one out of anywhere.
Here's my ass. I don't want to be around that.
Another black creator of coteur is Stephen Burrows. He rose
to fashion prominence in the early seventies during the disco era.
I was always confused by disco. I couldn't tell who
(11:17):
was dancing and who was giving me directions. But disco
isn't just about the moves, It's about the fashion, which
Stephen Burrows helped shape. He hung out at Studio fifty
four and was popular among its celebrity regulars. He was
the first to design clothes that were comfortable on the
dance floor, even at three am, right when the cocaine
(11:40):
hit so hard you thought you were the disco ball.
Cocaine was better in the seventies. Burrows also invented lettucing,
which is when you make the material at the edge
of a garment curve and ripple like a piece of Lettuce.
I'll have to take his word for it, because I've
never eaten a piece of letters. My favorite vegetable is
(12:02):
caramel covered popcorn. And finally, our last designer brings us
to the modern day. Virgil Ablow the first African American
artistic director at Louis Vauton and driving force behind this
decade streetwear movement. He made high end fashion take streetwear seriously.
(12:22):
You know, fancy logos, T shirts, chunky sneakers, hoodies, pretty
much anything you're not supposed to wear to a funeral
unless you're in the deceased had beef rist in peacepencer.
Miss Jordans is stepping on your grave. Now, don't be
fooled by the term streetwear. One of Ablow's biggest companies,
(12:42):
Off White, sells sweatpants for over three hundred dollars, and
this luxury undershirt costs two hundred. Although I don't know
why you would spend so much money on a shirt
that ain't nobody gonna see. You know how much I
paid for my underwear? Nothing. A six pack of drawers
fell off the back of a Walmart truck in nineteen
eighty seven, and I never looked back. So the next
time you zip your fly and you're looking fly, remember
(13:06):
the African American fashion trail blazers who made you that blazer. Now,
if you'd excuse me, I'm gonna make my first shirt
retail price ten thousand dollars. This old man has his debts,
but that's all the time we have for today. I'm
Royd with Junie. This has been CPE time. And remember
(13:26):
for the culture. Gave me some damn Somebody give me
a napkin. I'm bleeding on my fabric.
Speaker 6 (13:41):
My guest tonight is a fashion icon who pioneered high
end street where catering to gangsters, athletes, and musicians. His
new memoir is called Dappa Dan, Made in Harlem.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Please welcome Dapper Dan. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 5 (14:01):
Thank you, thank you for having me.
Speaker 6 (14:02):
I'm so excited to have you here because I remember
the first time I heard your name was in a
rap song. I remember rappers would rap about being laced
up by Dappa Dan. You know, people would talk about
these threads from Dapadan styles by Dappa Dan. It was
an idea and it was a myth.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
And now when.
Speaker 6 (14:17):
People see you today, they go the suits, they see
you dressing people at the met gala. They think, oh, yeah,
this man's a fashion designer. But you didn't start in
the most normal place. You started making something out of
nothing as a hustler.
Speaker 8 (14:31):
Yes, exactly. I started with nothing. I was like you
probably say, you was born in crime. I was born
in crime. Wow right, yeah, And so I had to
I had to adjust to life. So I used the
tools that was available to me. When I wanted to
open up a store, nobody would sell to me. So
(14:53):
I said, you know what, I'm gonna figureut how to
do this myself. I'm gonna learn how to make fabric
and do everything that the big boys do and do
better than they do it.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
You really, yeah, I mean you really.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
You really did something that I don't think anybody thinks
is possible. I don't think anyone has achieved in the
same way that you've done it. For those who don't know,
you know those like very fancy Fendy, you know outfits
that you see, you know, all these designer clothes where
you see like all the labels everywhere on it, like
Louis Vuitton, Luviatan, Leviatan Leave's or Fendy, Fendy, Fandy Fendy, Fendy, Fanny, that.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Was that was him.
Speaker 6 (15:28):
So a lot of people don't know this about Dapadam,
but but you came along and you created like a
street version of what these high end brands were creating.
You made your own version of Gucci, your own version
of Fendy, your own version of all of these brands,
which became bigger than the brands for many black people.
Speaker 8 (15:46):
Yeah, you know what I did. I what they call
me is the father of logo media. I looked at
the brand, I looked at them. I'll say, Wow, everybody's
excited about the logo, but Gucci is not making jackets.
Findy is not making jackets.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
One of these guys.
Speaker 8 (16:00):
Are making jackets in office. I said, wow, Well, if
they're excited with the bag, imagine if I could make
them look like the luggage.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
You have now gotten to a place where you're no
longer seen as an outsider, but rather a trendsetter. You
work with these fashion houses. They've teamed up with you.
For instance, you work with Gucci now where they Saidabadam,
we want to.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Create with you.
Speaker 6 (16:19):
In fact, you were part of the conversation when Gucci
had that incident where they came out with those designs
where people there was backlash on social media.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
Yes, why did you team up with them? Why did you?
Why did you work with Gucci?
Speaker 6 (16:30):
And many?
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Well, you know what I did.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
I did a lot of research even before I got
into the partnership, and I researched like Alexandro the lead designer,
and I researched Marco the CEO.
Speaker 8 (16:43):
And I know these men were genuine. So I said,
what happened? I said, well, y'all, I don't know what happened.
You know, if you shoot a guy by accident, you
shoot want purpose, he's dead. So I told him you
have to come, you have to come to Harlem, and
we got to fix this. You got to explain to
people what they did. And they came, you know, And
so now we have to change, make a program whereby
Gucci's gonna be putting money into different programs. We're gonna
(17:04):
have inclusivity. We got vice presidents now in a popolo
and so it's a big program. It's the change makes
the program. So we're gonna make a change. And actually
what we're starting here with Gucci, we need to move
that on to other brands.
Speaker 6 (17:17):
What do you think you want to see changing the
future in fashion now that Dappa Dan has a name
and clouts.
Speaker 8 (17:23):
What I really would like to see is that you know,
culture is what moves fashion, and you know this hip
hop culture went global, right, So if the culture can
go global, why can't the representatives of the culture go
global as well?
Speaker 1 (17:36):
So that's what I advocate for. I advocate for.
Speaker 8 (17:38):
More people who make a contribution to the culture that
enables these brands to make money, to be inclusive today.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Right, make that money. It's an exciting book, an amazing life.
Thank you so much for being on the show.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Explore more shows from The Daily Show podcast universe by
searching The Daily Show wherever you get your podcasts. Watch
The Daily Show week nights at eleven ten Central on
Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmount Plus.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
This has been a Comedy Central podcast
You're listening to Comedy Central. Now.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
It's New York Fashion Week, the semi annual event when
designers show their collections to the world so fast fashion
brands can decide which styles to rip off. But unlike
wet subway seats, fashion Week hasn't always been a New
York institution. It's had a long walk down the runway
to get where it is today. It all started in
France in the sixteen hundreds, which might not surprise you,
(00:36):
but back then Paris was very much not known for fashion.
The French were about as stylish as a croc wearing
a fanny pack. At that time, Madrid was actually the
fashion capital of the world, and thanks to their tiny tapas,
they could actually fit into all the sample sizes. But
everything changed for France when Louis the fourteenth was, you know,
King of Fid. Louis turned France into a major power,
(00:58):
and he wanted the thread.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
To show it.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
For him, fashion was essential to the monarchy's prestige. I mean,
no one wants to be executed by a guy wearing
cargo shorts. Louis's obsession built up France's fashion and textile
industry and soon turned Paris into the world center of fashion,
which by default made it the world center of cocaine
and bitchy gossip as well. It was under Louis that
(01:21):
France established the idea of showing fall designs in the
spring and spring designs in the fall. So you can
thank him for that trendy coat you're wearing in August.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Ooh, who new.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Fauforurt was so hot. France continued to dominate the fashion
industry for centuries until World War Two, when Paris was
under German occupation. This grinded their fashion influence to a
halt because A no one could come to Paris to shop,
and b Coco Chanelle was too busy banging Nazis to
make any clothes. I know, terrible right, But no matter
(01:55):
how many times I remind them of this, the boutique
still won't give me a discount on a classic flat.
But Paris's defeat turned out to be a win for
the American fashion industry. The US seized on the opportunity
to fill that gap quicker than a forever twenty one
dress falls apart in the laundry. In nineteen forty three,
America held the first Fashion Week, or as it was
(02:17):
known then press Week, started by a publicist Eleanor Lambert.
It launched the careers of designers like Hattie Carnegie, Norman Morrel,
and Claire mccardal, whose claim to fame was inventing sportswear.
And by sportswear, I mean any casual clothing, not the
athleisure that you wear even though your main exercise is
getting a caramel frap in the Starbucks drive through three
(02:39):
four I oh whoo.
Speaker 5 (02:46):
Ah.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Standard is tough. Before press Week, magazines like Vogue and
Harper's Bazaar were really all about European designers. They treated
American designers the way they treated the Kardashians in twenty
ten they ignored them. But once press Weeek started, they
treated American fashion like, well, the Kardashians. Now, she said
(03:08):
she'd eat poop to look good?
Speaker 6 (03:11):
Should I eat poop?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
New York Fashion Week became such an institution that fashion
capitals like Paris, London and Milan soon added their own versions,
and they continue pushing the fashion envelope to this day.
You could only get away with severed heads in Milan.
If that was on a New York runway, everyone would
just assume it was another murder. As time passed, New
York Fashion Week became home of so many seminal moments,
(03:39):
like in the fifties when James Galano's popularized feminine glamour,
or Adolfo, who gained fame in the sixties for his
emphasis on accessories. And in the seventies, Norma Kamali introduced
a sleeping bag coat, although if you just wear your
kid's sleeping bag, it looks almost good. As styles changed,
(04:06):
so did fashion week itself. In the seventies and eighties,
it turned into a NonStop party. Shows were held at
nightclubs and celebrities started attending. By the early two thousands,
celebs had become a permanent mainstay. Sarah Jessica Parker, Paris Hilton.
Everyone was there, and that Hollywood glamour is still present
to this day.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
But what was Larry.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
David doing in the front row? He looked so miserable
to be there. He should have been on the catwalk.
Through the years, Fashion Week has had different homes in
the city, from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center, but the
most important place it's moved to in recent years is
the same place you get all your porn the internet
shows started live streaming, and designers began inviting bloggers and
(04:49):
influencers to events. This all democratized fashion and made it
more accessible to the public. Or at least that's what
I tell my therapist when we're working through my online
shopping addiction. I'm broke. New York Fashion Week hasn't just
reflected the changing technology, It's also held a mirror up
to society. From designers responding to the Me Too movement
(05:10):
to the ongoing fight for more racial diversity on the runway,
New York's been the site of progress for trans models,
disabled models, and body positivity, which is kind of the
least the fashion industry could do after telling women not
to eat for the last one hundred years. So now
you know everything about New York Fashion Week and how
it came to be and how it's changing for the better. Now,
(05:30):
if you'll excuse me, I have some poop to eat.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Here we go.
Speaker 6 (05:43):
Today is the official s Thoughts of New York Fashion Week, or,
as New York has called it, Thursday for more. Please
welcome to the show, our newest daily show correspondent. Do'll
say sloan everybody.
Speaker 7 (06:01):
Thanks Drev. Yes, it's fashion Week, And while we'll.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
See some new looks.
Speaker 7 (06:05):
Some things will never change. For example, we know at
least one model will fail at her only job walking
down the runway, and that some designers going to try
to sell us clothes they fished out of a dumpster.
But the thing MM that GA's the most attention every
year is the cultural appropriation that never goes out of style.
Speaker 6 (06:27):
Well, do say, for people who don't know, can you
explain what cultural appropriation is?
Speaker 7 (06:31):
Sure, it's when you take something that divines the culture
that you're not a part of and profit off of it.
The fashion industry does it all the time. They take
from black culture, Native Americans, Asia, you name it. I
mean the models even appropriate their body dimensions from the
aliens and clothes encounters.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (06:48):
Yeah, yeah, But you'll say, to be fair, not all
instances of cultural appropriation are that extreme.
Speaker 7 (06:53):
Well, yeah, that's true. Not every person who listens to
rap or Where's a Kimono? Or sings the chorus to Desposito,
it's trying to steal someone else's culture.
Speaker 6 (07:02):
Let's put you here because I love singing Desposito.
Speaker 7 (07:06):
Well, you can definitely sing it because you know you
look like a Puerto Rican.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Ohl.
Speaker 7 (07:15):
But sometimes across the line, like when you get movies
about white boys saving jazz or Miley Cyrus.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Twerkin' ugh hell.
Speaker 7 (07:24):
Cultural appropriation is the only thing Taylor and Katie can't
agree on.
Speaker 6 (07:28):
Okay, okay, But some people look at some of these
examples and they sing, why the fuss.
Speaker 7 (07:33):
Because, Trevor is when white people discover something that used
to be considered ghetto.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
For example, look at big butts. I always try to
thank you.
Speaker 7 (07:57):
Big butts used to be considered undesired, but since the
Kardashians bought all of theirs, now everybody wants one. Ooh,
and don't get me started on dreadlocks. When black people
have them, they're discriminated against, they even get fired over it.
But when white people have them, clothes fly off the racks.
Look at this, this is a fashion shower.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
She a avatar? Wait, go back? Was that Kendall Jenna?
Speaker 7 (08:20):
Baby, It's always Kendle Jenna.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (08:23):
Well, you know what they'll say, I'm gonna I'm gonna lie.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
I hear you.
Speaker 6 (08:25):
And this is interesting because for me, it's weird. Where
I come from, cultural appropriation isn't really a big deal,
right My My family's always trying to get my white
friends to wear African clothes. They don't view it as
white people trying to steal our culture. They think they're
embracing it.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 7 (08:38):
And that's the attitude they got my ancestors over here.
These white men are trying to steal us, they're embracing us.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Come on, go get on this boat. Okay, no, no,
but the way. But it's not just Africa. When Beyonce
did that video where she.
Speaker 6 (08:50):
Dressed up like an Indian goddess, right, people here were upset,
but in India a lot of people loved it.
Speaker 7 (08:55):
Okay, not travl Beyonce is a bad example because she's
a lotteral goddess. Come on, forget culture. Beyonce is so
my identity. I wouldn't even press charges. I'd be like,
thank you, this is a honor. Look, Trevor, this is
(09:15):
about equality. If minorities were equal, they wouldn't worry about
people taking their culture because that wouldn't be all they have. Look,
white people, if you're gonna appropriate take everything, take the
good and the bad.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
You can take my struggle to get pulled.
Speaker 7 (09:29):
Over for no reason, get followed through a store and
the next time there's a Black Lives Matter march. I
want to see you there, kindle, but don't worry about
bringing that pepsi. Girl, We drink spry, ju say slow
and everybody.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Huh. Welcome to c P Time, the only show that's
for the culture. Today, we'll be discussing black contributions to fashion. Normally,
when we think about black fashion, we think about church
hats so big they block your view of Jesus. Or
we think about those soups that Steve Harvey wears had
haul all the buttons, leave some buttons for the rest
(10:14):
of us. Steve, they'd keep them my clothes together with staples.
But in actuality, the world of fashion has been filled
with influential and iconic African American designers, like our first trailblazer,
Zelda Wynn Valdez, who was one of the first designers
whose clothing accentuated women's curves. Before her, women's fashion covered
(10:35):
up their figures with big ass skirts the size of
a carnival cruise ship. Women would get lost just bending
over to tie the shoes. Zelda's curve flowing designs were
so popular that Hugh Hefferner asked her to design the
iconic outfit for the Playboy Bunnies. I never went to
the Playboy Mansion myself because I was married, and I
(10:57):
also have a severe phobia of rabbits. I never know
where rabbits are hiding, and if you can pull one
out of a hat, you can pull one out of anywhere.
Here's my ass. I don't want to be around that.
Another black creator of coteur is Stephen Burrows. He rose
to fashion prominence in the early seventies during the disco era.
I was always confused by disco. I couldn't tell who
(11:17):
was dancing and who was giving me directions. But disco
isn't just about the moves, It's about the fashion, which
Stephen Burrows helped shape. He hung out at Studio fifty
four and was popular among its celebrity regulars. He was
the first to design clothes that were comfortable on the
dance floor, even at three am, right when the cocaine
(11:40):
hit so hard you thought you were the disco ball.
Cocaine was better in the seventies. Burrows also invented lettucing,
which is when you make the material at the edge
of a garment curve and ripple like a piece of Lettuce.
I'll have to take his word for it, because I've
never eaten a piece of letters. My favorite vegetable is
(12:02):
caramel covered popcorn. And finally, our last designer brings us
to the modern day. Virgil Ablow the first African American
artistic director at Louis Vauton and driving force behind this
decade streetwear movement. He made high end fashion take streetwear seriously.
(12:22):
You know, fancy logos, T shirts, chunky sneakers, hoodies, pretty
much anything you're not supposed to wear to a funeral
unless you're in the deceased had beef rist in peacepencer.
Miss Jordans is stepping on your grave. Now, don't be
fooled by the term streetwear. One of Ablow's biggest companies,
(12:42):
Off White, sells sweatpants for over three hundred dollars, and
this luxury undershirt costs two hundred. Although I don't know
why you would spend so much money on a shirt
that ain't nobody gonna see. You know how much I
paid for my underwear? Nothing. A six pack of drawers
fell off the back of a Walmart truck in nineteen
eighty seven, and I never looked back. So the next
time you zip your fly and you're looking fly, remember
(13:06):
the African American fashion trail blazers who made you that blazer. Now,
if you'd excuse me, I'm gonna make my first shirt
retail price ten thousand dollars. This old man has his debts,
but that's all the time we have for today. I'm
Royd with Junie. This has been CPE time. And remember
(13:26):
for the culture. Gave me some damn Somebody give me
a napkin. I'm bleeding on my fabric.
Speaker 6 (13:41):
My guest tonight is a fashion icon who pioneered high
end street where catering to gangsters, athletes, and musicians. His
new memoir is called Dappa Dan, Made in Harlem.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Please welcome Dapper Dan. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 5 (14:01):
Thank you, thank you for having me.
Speaker 6 (14:02):
I'm so excited to have you here because I remember
the first time I heard your name was in a
rap song. I remember rappers would rap about being laced
up by Dappa Dan. You know, people would talk about
these threads from Dapadan styles by Dappa Dan. It was
an idea and it was a myth.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
And now when.
Speaker 6 (14:17):
People see you today, they go the suits, they see
you dressing people at the met gala. They think, oh, yeah,
this man's a fashion designer. But you didn't start in
the most normal place. You started making something out of
nothing as a hustler.
Speaker 8 (14:31):
Yes, exactly. I started with nothing. I was like you
probably say, you was born in crime. I was born
in crime. Wow right, yeah, And so I had to
I had to adjust to life. So I used the
tools that was available to me. When I wanted to
open up a store, nobody would sell to me. So
(14:53):
I said, you know what, I'm gonna figureut how to
do this myself. I'm gonna learn how to make fabric
and do everything that the big boys do and do
better than they do it.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
You really, yeah, I mean you really.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
You really did something that I don't think anybody thinks
is possible. I don't think anyone has achieved in the
same way that you've done it. For those who don't know,
you know those like very fancy Fendy, you know outfits
that you see, you know, all these designer clothes where
you see like all the labels everywhere on it, like
Louis Vuitton, Luviatan, Leviatan Leave's or Fendy, Fendy, Fandy Fendy, Fendy, Fanny, that.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Was that was him.
Speaker 6 (15:28):
So a lot of people don't know this about Dapadam,
but but you came along and you created like a
street version of what these high end brands were creating.
You made your own version of Gucci, your own version
of Fendy, your own version of all of these brands,
which became bigger than the brands for many black people.
Speaker 8 (15:46):
Yeah, you know what I did. I what they call
me is the father of logo media. I looked at
the brand, I looked at them. I'll say, Wow, everybody's
excited about the logo, but Gucci is not making jackets.
Findy is not making jackets.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
One of these guys.
Speaker 8 (16:00):
Are making jackets in office. I said, wow, Well, if
they're excited with the bag, imagine if I could make
them look like the luggage.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
You have now gotten to a place where you're no
longer seen as an outsider, but rather a trendsetter. You
work with these fashion houses. They've teamed up with you.
For instance, you work with Gucci now where they Saidabadam,
we want to.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Create with you.
Speaker 6 (16:19):
In fact, you were part of the conversation when Gucci
had that incident where they came out with those designs
where people there was backlash on social media.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
Yes, why did you team up with them? Why did you?
Why did you work with Gucci?
Speaker 6 (16:30):
And many?
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Well, you know what I did.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
I did a lot of research even before I got
into the partnership, and I researched like Alexandro the lead designer,
and I researched Marco the CEO.
Speaker 8 (16:43):
And I know these men were genuine. So I said,
what happened? I said, well, y'all, I don't know what happened.
You know, if you shoot a guy by accident, you
shoot want purpose, he's dead. So I told him you
have to come, you have to come to Harlem, and
we got to fix this. You got to explain to
people what they did. And they came, you know, And
so now we have to change, make a program whereby
Gucci's gonna be putting money into different programs. We're gonna
(17:04):
have inclusivity. We got vice presidents now in a popolo
and so it's a big program. It's the change makes
the program. So we're gonna make a change. And actually
what we're starting here with Gucci, we need to move
that on to other brands.
Speaker 6 (17:17):
What do you think you want to see changing the
future in fashion now that Dappa Dan has a name
and clouts.
Speaker 8 (17:23):
What I really would like to see is that you know,
culture is what moves fashion, and you know this hip
hop culture went global, right, So if the culture can
go global, why can't the representatives of the culture go
global as well?
Speaker 1 (17:36):
So that's what I advocate for. I advocate for.
Speaker 8 (17:38):
More people who make a contribution to the culture that
enables these brands to make money, to be inclusive today.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Right, make that money. It's an exciting book, an amazing life.
Thank you so much for being on the show.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Explore more shows from The Daily Show podcast universe by
searching The Daily Show wherever you get your podcasts. Watch
The Daily Show week nights at eleven ten Central on
Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmount Plus.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
This has been a Comedy Central podcast
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