With his eponymous store on 125th
street, Dapper Dan pioneered
street wear in the early 1980s, co-
opting luxury branding to design
original garments with high-end
detail. A leading driver of the 80s
chic style, Dapper Dan began
making clothes in Harlem, during
which he was known for giving rap
its signature music style, styling
everyone from Big Daddy Kane to
Mike Tyson.
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Master Class
He then went on to outfit
entertainers and other celebrities
including Eric B & Rakim, LL Cool
J, Salt-N-Pepa, Missy Elliott, Jay-Z,
Aaliyah, P.Diddy, Floyd Mayweather
and many more.
profiles
Burak Cakmak has facilitated
successful collaborations for over a
decade with a wide range of
stakeholders including suppliers,
retailers, NGOs, governments, and
the media in order to drive
positive, ethical industry change.
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Burak Cakmak
Dean, Parsons School of Design
Dapper Dan
Fashion innovator
In 2017 Gucci partnered with
Dapper Dan to reopen his atelier as
well as release a Gucci-Dapper Dan
collaboration exploring the design
synergies between the designer
and Gucci’s creative director.
Dapper Dan has been feature on
platforms including The New York
Times, Elle, Vogue W Vanity Fair,
The New Yorker, CNN and Netflix.
His works have been on display at
The Smithsonian, The Museum at
FIT, The Metropolitan Museum of
Art and The Museum of Modern
Art.
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Prior to joining Parsons, Cakmak
worked at Swarovski Group as the
company’s first Vice President of
Corporate Responsibility and acted
as General Manager of MADE-
BY Benelux in the Netherlands,
advancing fashion sustainability
practices for brands such as H&M,
Tommy Hilfiger, Acne, Primark, Ted
Baker, and G-Star, among others.
Prior to that, Cakmak spearheaded
innovation-driven sustainability
strategies as the first Director of
Corporate Sustainability for
Kering’s luxury brands, including
Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint
Laurent, Alexander McQueen,
Sergio Rossi, Balenciaga, Stella
McCartney, and Boucheron.
Nikki Ogunnaike is an award-
winning journalist and the Style
Director of Elle.com, one of the
biggest fashion and beauty online
magazines in the world.
A veteran fashion journalist, Nikki
has held senior positions at some of
the most renowned fashion media
houses, including InStyle, Vanity fair
and Glamour.com, which she left in
2015 to join Elle.com, where she is
now the Style Director.
Nikki Ogunnaike
Style Director ELLE.com
Nikki is also a TV personality and
a prominent feature in ELLE.com
videos, where she entertains her
audience with a mix of style that is
equal parts accessible and forward-
thinking.
Cakmak is passionate about
education and has established
projects and partnerships in the
US, UK, France, China, Brazil, and
India.
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Jay is well recognized for the
energy and dynamism he brings in
the fashion media space as a host,
creative director and executive
producer on some of the decade’s
hottest television shows.
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Fashion insider, style savant and
beauty correspondent, Kahlana
Barfield Brown has carved a niche
for herself in the ever-evolving,
uber competitive world of fashion
and beauty. From writing countless
feature stories to reporting live
on the red carpet, Kahlana rose
through the ranks of fashion
journalism to become an authority
and one of the most recognizable
faces in the industry.
His roles in television include Host
of The Style Networks’ makeover
series, “Style Her Famous” and
as the inspired Creative Director/
Judge on the CW Network reality
series “America’s Next Top Model”.
Jay Manuel
Beauty Entrepreneur
He has also hosted “Style Rocks
the Red Carpet” for New York
Fashion Week and been co-host of
“Fashion Police” and has covered
the glamorous red carpet world
of celebrity fashion and beauty at
the Emmys, The SAG Awards, the
Grammys, the Golden Globes and
the Oscars.
In 2015, Jay launched Jay Manuel
Beauty, a prestige line of cosmetics
based on a new Filter Finish
collection technology.
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KaHlana Barfield
Fashion & Beauty editor
Now a TV personality and style
connoisseur, Kahlana regularly
appears on national television
shows such as Today, Good
Morning America, The View, Extra
and Entertainment Tonight to offer
her expert insights on a wide range
of fashion and lifestyle topics.
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