MODULE 5 BLOG POST (AF AMER 188A UCLA)
This week's readings made me think about how fashion and clothing can also reach into discussion of ownership and thinking about who is allowed to create culture and hold power. One of the ideas that stood out to me most was Dapper Dan's description of "Africanizing" luxury fashion. He wasn’t just copying brands like Gucci or Louis Vuitton, he would place their logos onto pieces using colors and styles that reflected Black street culture and hip-hop. The material itself remained recognizable, but its meaning completely changed. Luxury brands that had historically excluded Black consumers suddenly became symbols of Black creativity, success, and identity. Fashion became a form of resistance because it reclaimed materials that were never intended for Black communities and reimagined them on Black terms.
At the same time, I couldn't help but think about how often Black innovation is embraced only after it becomes profitable. When Dapper Dan first gained recognition, luxury brands only condemned his work as copyright infringement and attempted to shut him down. Years later, however, many of those same fashion houses adopted aesthetics that were heavily influenced by his designs and eventually sought collaborations with him. Kill for me being woke, but this pattern reminds me of the destruction of Black Wall Street in Tulsa and the broader history of Black communities building wealth, businesses, and systems of support only to have those achievements undermined once they become too successful or threatening. Whether it is economic wealth, education, community institutions, or cultural influence, there seems to be a recurring pattern where Black success is celebrated only after it has been stripped from the people who created it.
I also found myself thinking about how this continues today through athleisure fashion. As luxury athletic brands like Lululemon became increasingly popular within Black communities online, discussions started coming up about the company's discomfort with the ways certain consumers represented the brand. As though saying their reputation as luxury athleisure would be tarnished if “certain customers” kept buying from them. Yet Black creators and influencers played an enormous role in making athleisure a cultural phenomenon. In response, more Black-owned activewear companies have emerged, creating clothing that centers Black consumers, reimagining (in a sense “africanizing”) athleisure wear, rather than treating them as outsiders. Then, (you guessed it!) companies like Lulu Lemon, Alo, etc. came back around to start copying what these black owned brands were doing after seeing they were successful. For references I added some images following the leopard print set trend from different companies. While companies like Maramma, Body by Raven, etc. are not recreating Dapper Dan's work exactly, they continue his larger project of reclaiming spaces within fashion that historically excluded Black people and proving that luxury does not have to be defined by traditionally white institutions.
