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AOL Build Speaker Series: Sacha Jenkins And Dapper Dan

Source: Laura Cavanaugh / Getty

If you were hoping to get your hands on the limited edition Dapper Dan x Gap hoodie today then you might have missed your chance as the special hoodies sold out within minutes of being released!

The legendary Harlem designer has teamed up with retailer Gap to release a limited-edition sweatshirt called, the “DAP GAP.” The sweatshirt currently retails for $98 and was released earlier today but was immediately sold out only minutes after becoming available for purchase online.

But, if you’re wondering why the man who’s been responsible for defining hip-hop style is even partnering with the GAP in the first place, he explained to VOGUE that, “The Gap represents accessible style; everyone can be a part of it while still being themselves,” which completely embodies who Dapper Dan is.

He continued, “I still remember my first pair of khakis and how I used to starch them, but you can [also] find a farmer in the most remote part of the country who knows what the Gap is, so it’s a big deal to be a part of this distinctly American thing.”

But this isn’t the first time the Gap has merged with hip hop. Dan recalled when rapper LL Cool J was featured in Gap ads back in the 1990s, thus calling his own partnership a bit of “history repeating itself.” He continued, “I remember when LL Cool J was in the Gap ads wearing his FUBU hat. That was the moment that put FUBU on the map in the mainstream and allowed them to become a marketable name.”

The partnership between Dapper Dan and the Gap is meant to blend the swagger of hip hop style with the classic feel of American fashion, and it’s those two personalities that helped Dap figure out how to style this campaign. “I’m a swag man, so I had to take it upscale and put on an ascot! My vision was about destigmatizing the hoodie,” he says. “At certain points in history, it’s been used to represent the dark side of our culture, so this was presenting it in a way that shows you can wear this and be fly, be international, and elegant.”

And while we might have to wait to be as fly, international, and elegant as Dap with our own DAP GAP hoodies, we have to admit that the whole partnership is very on-brand for the legendary Harlem designer, and we can’t wait to get our hands on a DAP GAP sweatshirt.

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