How That Iconic Gucci Moment in Saweetie’s “Best Friend” Video Came to Be

It’s 2021, and the girls did not come to play. The relevant girl in particular here is Diamonté Harper, a.k.a. Saweetie. Her “Best Friend” music video featuring Doja Cat racked up more than 18 million views over its debut weekend, while also serving up a sumptuous fashion feast amid glittering visuals. Among the eight eye-catching looks featured, there is one, inspired by an iconic piece of Black fashion history, that stands out. “When we pull up to the scene, they be filled with jealousy,” Saweetie raps while patting her hot-pink hair. As I take in her custom Dapper Dan for Gucci ensemble, that is exactly how I feel—not just a little envious. Decked out in a forest-green velour cropped jacket with balloon sleeves, a bralette, hot pants, and thigh-high boots emblazoned with hot-pink Gucci monograms—not to mention paired with gold jewelry and auntie nails clacking—Saweetie is a pure ’90s throwback. “I wanted it to feel like she was a chick in Harlem in 1994,” her stylist of three years, Bryon Javar, tells BAZAAR.com. “The Dapper Dan moment was so important for me and Saweetie to have for this video. I had been trying to get some things made for other projects and timing wasn’t on our side, but for this, it was perfect.”

A close-up of Saweetie on set
Courtesy

Dapper Dan, in case you’ve been living under a un-chic rock, is a designer and haberdasher from Harlem who rose to fame in the 1980s, outfitting hip-hop heavyweights like Eric B. & Rakim, Salt-N-Pepa, LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C., The Fat Boys, and Public Enemy out of his iconic store, Dapper Dan’s Boutique, which shuttered in 1992. Flash-forward to 2017, when Dan caught the eye of Alessandro Michele of Gucci, resulting in ongoing collaborations on a number of projects. “This is how we work,” Dan explains of how Saweetie’s look came together. “The inspiration came primarily from their team. When they reached out to me, my understanding was that they were always fascinated with the item that I made for Diane Dixon back in the ’80s, with the blouson, puffy sleeves, and so they wanted something sexy on that order.”He continues, “So, as we go through that, we sit down, we lock heads, and we find out what suits them. In the past, it was just me and the client. Today, we have a lot of people who have their own stylist. So between us, we work out the ideas that are based around how they want to look, what their image is, or even what their lyrics…

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Source: elle.com