Why Gucci Mane For Gucci?

by Hetty Mahlich on 4 October 2019

Why Gucci Mane's appearance in the Gucci Cruise campaign never happened until now.

Why Gucci Mane's appearance in the Gucci Cruise campaign never happened until now.

Gucci Mane's recent appearance in the Gucci Cruise 2020 campaign would never have happened twenty years ago. Hip-hop and black culture embraced the luxury fashion houses of Europe long before the reverse would be true. Gucci Mane and Gucci have formed a mutual affiliation, with the American rapper having been known to wear the Italian label head-to-toe, even reviewing the Gucci S/S 17 show for American Vogue. It is no surprise that Gucci has brought Gucci Mane into the fold, only that it has taken them so long.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the golden age of hip-hop, luxury brands often refused to dress the biggest names, and it was left to Dapper Dan to clad them in bespoke designs incorporating the printed logos of Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci and Dior amongst others. Dapper Dan's clothes were worn by the who's who of hip-hop and Harlem, including Jay-Z, Erik B and Rakim, Mohammed Ali and drug cartel leader Alpo Martinez. Dan recognised the power of the logo in luxury decades before the sell-out Supreme x Louis Vuitton collaboration. 'He actually taught an entire generation how to engage with luxury brands...every time I walk into Louis Vuitton to buy a pair of sneakers...I know they’re only doing it because of Dapper Dan' Steve Stoute told the New York Times. Luxury brands soon began to recognise the cultural power of hip-hop with Dapper Dan sent underground by copyright lawsuits. In 1996, Tupac walked for Versace, and in 1999 P-Diddy appeared in the October issue of American Vogue. In recent years tracks such as Lil Pump's Gucci Gang or A$AP Rocky's Fashion Killa explicitly reference designers, and brands have come to recognise the mutual benefit of a relationship with rappers, who are able to raise the visibility of luxury brands with a millennial audience, with A$AP Rocky fronting campaigns for Dior Homme and Calvin Klein, and Travis Scott for Saint Laurent.

It has long been known that street-wear has taken charge within the fashion industry, with brands monetising from what Dapper Dan set in motion. Despite campaigns celebrating black underground music culture, Gucci Cruise 2020 is the first time the Italian brand has put a black artist centre stage. Mane fits the bill for creative director Alessandro Michele's unapologetic maximalism and inclusive, eclectic world. However, following cultural hiccups such as in 2017, when Michele failed to pay official homage to Dapper Dan after copying a 1989 puff-sleeved jacket design, or the black-face jumper debuted for A/W 19, one must be wary of why it has taken them so long. Luxury brands may nod to hip-hop's cultural power and relevance, including them in their narratives, however, seemingly will only do so as long as it is of service to them.

Gucci Cruise 2020 Campaign, photograph Harmony Korine, courtesy Gucci
P-Diddy in American Vogue October 1999, Annie Leibovitz.
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