Gap x Dapper Dan Spring 2024 Ad Campaign

Review of Gap x Dapper Dan Spring 2024 Ad Campaign by Photographer Joshua Kissi with Talent Dapper Dan, Margaret Porter Troupe and Duane Harper Grant

Gap and Dapper Dan put a meaningful spin the reemerging western wear trend with a new Spring 2024 collection and its accompanying campaign that continues the partnership’s celebration of Harlem’s hugely influential creative community. The campaign was shot and directed by photographer Joshua Kissi.

Kissi’s intimate imagery centers around Graham Court, the historic apartment building in Harlem that, though it was one of the neighborhood’s last buildings to become integrated, has since been a hub of intersectional and interdisciplinary creative community. The building’s iconic courtyard and interiors provide an elevated yet grounded backdrop for the collection’s twists on western wear and denim classics.

Kissi’s short film deepens the sense of reverence for the community as it shares the firsthand stories of some of Graham Court’s creative community leaders, like activist and non-profit organizer Margaret Porter Troupe and musician Duane Harper Grant.

“At certain points in history, the hoodie had been used to represent the dark side of our culture, so this partnership with Gap presents it in a way that shows you can wear a hoodie and be fly, be international, and elegant,” said Dapper Dan. “This new installation also symbolizes universal love and unity. You’ll see every single piece of this collection was created with love and intention down to the updated logo stitched inside each garment. We are in the present preparing for the future because this brand, this collaboration, is about bringing everybody together. We were some of the original cowboys. But we are also the faces of the world to come — we are the urban cowboys.”

Though Hollywood may have presented an idealized version of the cowboy, it’s a well-documented fact that the vast majority of real cowboys were black and brown immigrant workers. Dapper Dan is of course an icon of American fashion, and especially for the black community in Harlem and across the country, so it’s fitting and wise that he would leverage this partnership to further uplift and empower the unsung heroes of American fashion and culture, reclaiming history while empowering a new generation.