Literary | Talks
Dapper Dan
- 7PM
Single Tickets
In conversation with Elaine Welteroth
Launch of Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem
Co-presented by BAM and Greenlight Bookstore
High-end streetwear icon Dapper Dan graces the BAM stage to celebrate the launch of his stunning new memoir, Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem. At his now-legendary atelier on 125th Street in Harlem, Dapper Dan remixed classic luxury-brand logos into his own designs in the 1980s and dressed the likes of Eric B. and Rakim, Salt-N-Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, Mike Tyson, LL Cool J, Jam Master Jay, Diddy, Naomi Campbell, and Jay-Z.
But before he reinvented haute couture, he was a hungry boy with holes in his shoes, a teen who daringly gambled drug dealers out of their money, and a young man in a prison cell who found nourishment in books. And when he turned his attention to fashion, he did so with the energy and curiosity that he approaches all things, eventually emerging as a world-famous designer whose looks went on to define an era. In this playful, poignant, thrilling, and inspiring account, he tells his story for the first time.
Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day’s work has been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution, The Museum at FIT, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the City of New York, and London’s Design Museum. His eponymous boutique was open from 1982 to 1992, and reopened in 2017 in a major partnership with Gucci.
New York Times best-selling author and journalist Elaine Welteroth was formerly the editor in chief of Teen Vogue, becoming the youngest person and the second African-American to hold this title in Condé Nast’s 107-year history. Under her leadership, Teen Vogue notably increased its coverage of news and politics, encouraging readers to become civically engaged. Welteroth has written for the show Grown-ish and is currently a judge on Bravo’s Project Runway. Her first book, More Than Enough, was recently published by Viking Press.