Brooklyn Public Library’s The People’s Ball Awards Icons April Walker And Dapper Dan

April 29, 2023, on the eve of the famed MetGala, Brooklyn Public Library, held its annual celebration of style and notoriety among New York City’s most invested cultural beacons. Returning for its third year, The People’s Ball is a fashion event celebrating inclusivity and individuality at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Library at Grand Army Plaza.

Each year, The People’s Ball invites New Yorkers of all backgrounds to showcase their unique style with an opportunity to walk the runway for guests to cheer on. The event positions itself as a free alternative to exclusive galas and parties around the city during the weekend. Attendees were encouraged to express their most authentic selves with an evening hosted by actress Delissa Reynolds, currently in the WU-TANG: An American Saga series on Hulu, and cultural advocate Rob Fields, with special guest, master of ceremony, and curator Peter “Souleo” Wright.

Aiming to celebrate and honor the diversity in color, texture, and style that make up the urban runway of New York City, the event ultimately promotes inclusivity while eschewing elitism. This theme was evident in the stature of each awardee, each of the five awards delivered by co-guest host and contemporary artist Mickalene Thomas, styled in BODE.

On the runway in the Central Library’s iconic lobby, Souleo, and artist Mickalene Thomas, celebrated and awarded five “People’s Heroes” for their service to their respective New York City communities and the greater city area, whose work has had an impact on culture. The awardees included Aura Mejia, Tenant Organizing and Advocacy Manager at Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Asmeret Berhe-Lumax, the founder of One Love Community Fridge, a Brooklyn-based non-profit organization that supports healthy food deliveries to the New York City community fridges, and in honoring the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop, Cindy Campbell, the “First Lady of Hip Hop” and a promoter who started out with her brother, DJ Cool Herc.

New York has always been a place of style, and with that, awards were given to two people who initiated the term streetwear in fashion by fortitude. Brooklyn native April Walker, the first woman with an urban fashion brand called WalkerWear, founded the streetwear brand in the 1990s and was known for its baggy jeans, hoodies, and t-shirts with the initials “WW” or a script version logo. Worn by musicians, celebrities, and athletes like Aaliyah, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., and Mike Tyson, Walker Wear was one of the first streetwear brands designed for women at the time and worn by many visible pillars of hip-hop culture.

The other award recipient was none-other-than Harlem legend, a New York City cultural pioneer, Dapper Dan. The Harlem couturier who introduced custom clothing with familiar high-end branding would spawn the earliest ideas of street kids taking what existed in fashion and making it their own.

Dapper Dan, and his Harlem haberdashery, are known for the replica logo design and textile printing of high-end European fashion houses. The Father of “Logomania” and named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people of 2020, his past retail business has faced challenges due to raids and confiscation by law enforcement. To remedy the beginning of his sartorial journey and his moments as an underground fashion designer, In 2017, he collaborated with Gucci Atelier, cementing his status as a symbol of Black entrepreneurship and culture.

Each recipient plays a significant part in the ecosystem of New York City and the people that are its lifeblood. The People’s Ball honors those making New York alluring with personal style and creative endeavors that build cultural springboards and businesses that cater to underserved groups and local supporters. The third year has given more kudos to those who have given their lives to see change, for the better, within each respective industry.