Ghost Writer

Searching for the elusive urban underground spirit led Gucci’s Alessandro Michele to New York-based artist Trouble Andrew. The result, GucciGhost, is a collaboration that fearlessly subverts the codes of luxury street culture.

- Rafa Rodríguez

IF IT WAS YVES SAINT LAURENT’S WISH TO HAVE CREATED JEANS, Dapper Dan’s would have been to have invented Gucci. Given that, unfortunately, both already existed, they tried it in their own way: The former by putting his stamp on jeans from the exclusive Parisian rive gauche, and the latter by patenting a screen printing system that would allow him to print the Italian label’s monogram at will in a New York basement. For this purpose, they both used the same unique and powerful weapon: A logo. “Ah, the logo. The logo represents status and money, which go together. The issue is, with a logo, you can presume a status without anyone knowing that, in actual fact, you’re broke. It’s what adds impact to your look,” said the brave tailor from Harlem, one of the main characters of Fresh Dressed (2015), the documentary by Sacha Jenkins—filmmaker, producer, musician, editor, and chronicler of Afro-American urban culture through his company Mass Appeal—that must be watched to understand the history of street wear and its fantasies of grandeur. For a decade starting in 1982, Dan made the dreams of luxury of the people who could not afford them come true. His store on 125 th Street even stayed open 24 hours a day to satisfy the demand of a clientele as hungry for status as they were lacking in funds (including emerging hip hop stars such as Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Salt-N-Peppa, or the rapper known back then as Puff Daddy), recreating the logos they aspired for on trainers, bomber jackets, and baggy trousers. “The Gucci logo made the biggest impact because you could use it on everything,” says the designer. Until rap became a business and money started to come in by the ton, that is. As Jay Z sang in U Don’t Know, proclaiming his authenticity in 2001: “Wear a G on my chest / I don’t need Dapper Dan.”