New Documentary 'fresh Dressed' Explores Hip-hop Fashion

NEW YORK (AP) — From slave-era church outfits and Little Richard to the South Bronx and Dapper Dan the knockoff king of Harlem, the roots of hip-hop culture stretch beyond the music. The film "Fresh Dressed," out Friday in select cities and on video on demand, is the handiwork of director and journalist Sacha Jenkins, who traces the history and legacy of fresh through interviews, animation and archival footage. New York City was the heartbeat of hip-hop and the style movement that accompanied its rise in the early 1970s, including distinct looks defining each of the five boroughs: velour designer sweatsuits with matching sneakers in Harlem, or a pair of Clarks on feet in Brooklyn, for example. It touched young people in the gang-plagued Bronx who sewed patches, silver bangles and used cowhide stitching around the armholes of denim jackets after cutting off the sleeves, emulating the outlaw bikers in "Easy Rider." Or it could mean a Kangol hat, some Cazal shades, ultra-baggy pants or Adidas with fat laces that required stretching, starching and pressing to perfect the look. Fresh prompted riots over Jordan sneakers, shootings over Marmot jackets and mass lootings at the hands of boosting crews who rushed fancy Manhattan stores in search of Polo and other coveted brands. Kane, among the music pioneers to appear in "Fresh Dressed," was once a frequenter of Daniel "Dapper Dan" Day, whose Harlem boutique made clothes to order, sometimes using famous logos like that of Louis Vuitton but done in fresh ways for up-and-coming rappers and the hustlers he counted among his urban clientele. While Dapper Dan (squeezed out of business over alleged copyright infringement) serviced many, others in the film recalled the aspirational popularity of the real deal: