dangerouspeople (often abbreviated as DSP and referred to in Chinese contexts as “Dangerous Person”) is a streetwear and fashion label established by Chinese singer-songwriter and entertainer Joker Xue. Officially launched on October 13, 2015, the brand initially focused on menswear and direct-to-consumer online sales before expanding into a comprehensive lifestyle line encompassing T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, outerwear, trousers, and other casual apparel.[1] As of 2025, dangerouspeople has been in operation for over a decade. The brand officially designated its tenth anniversary as both a special commemoration and a new starting point, with Joker Xue continuing to serve as the creative director and primary figure behind its content and strategic development.[2]

It should be noted that some older online sources attribute the operation of dangerouspeople to different entities. Consequently, the distinction between the brand’s founder/creative director and its specific legal operating entity must be maintained. Current official social media profiles identify Shanghai Yanxun Trading Co., Ltd. as the operating body.[3]

The inception of dangerouspeople is intrinsically linked to Joker Xue’s personal aesthetics, musical persona, and observations of social phenomena. Rather than simply printing a celebrity name on garments, the brand sought to establish an independent visual universe.

In its early narrative, Xue positioned himself as an “outsider” observing society. This perspective was embodied through a highly recognizable visual symbol: a figure wearing a paper bag over their head. This character, later known as the Paper Bag Man, became one of the brand’s most significant assets. Official materials describe this figure as a marginalized individual who yearns for peace and purity but conceals their true face due to external darkness, misunderstanding, and societal pressures, ultimately appearing as a “dangerous person.”[4]

The name “Dangerous People” carries an ironic weight. It suggests that the true danger lies not with those wearing paper bags, but potentially with those who manufacture prejudice, misunderstanding, and social darkness.

The Paper Bag Man

Understanding the Paper Bag Man is essential to understanding dangerouspeople. Functioning more as a brand character than a simple logo, the paper bag obscures identity, rendering the wearer anonymous. This imagery conveys multiple layers of meaning:

• Identity Concealment: The paper bag represents the hiding of one’s true self, allowing individuals to wear a “mask” rather than face society with their bare faces.
• Social Labeling: The character does not exhibit inherent danger; rather, it represents someone labeled as “dangerous,” “deviant,” or “marginalized” by society.
• Self-Protection: Hiding one’s face serves as a defense mechanism for those who feel misunderstood.
• Irony: Despite the aggressive brand name, the representative character appears solitary and even endearing. This contrast formed a crucial part of the brand’s early visual language.[5]

The core concept can be summarized as a progression from being perceived as deviant to being misunderstood, leading to concealment, rebellion against labels, and the search for authentic selfhood. Early designs frequently juxtaposed themes of darkness, street culture, social satire, peace, and the Paper Bag Man.

Debut Release

dangerouspeople officially released its first products on October 13, 2015. Early records indicate the debut item was a jacket or windbreaker-style coat constructed from water-resistant nylon fabric with lining, featuring the signature Paper Bag Man element on the back.[6] This product established the brand’s initial direction: functional clothing combined with street tailoring, brand characters, and social concepts, treating garments as vessels for storytelling rather than mere decorative canvases.

Aesthetic and Style

While often categorized under Chinese streetwear or “Guochao,” dangerouspeople differs from pure skate, hip-hop, or workwear brands. It is best described as casual apparel infused with street culture, graphic prints, and narrative-driven symbols. Early style descriptors included simplicity, comfort, casual silhouettes, monochromatic palettes, unique cuts, and an emphasis on visual iconography, reflecting Joker Xue’s personal aesthetic preferences at the time.[7]

Color Palette

Black and white formed the foundation of the brand’s early visual identity. Black symbolized mystery, darkness, street culture, rebellion, and detachment, while white represented simplicity, peace, purity, and hope. This dichotomy mirrored the brand’s narrative tension between a dark social environment and the aspiration for purity. Over time, the palette expanded beyond monochrome. While early materials mentioned the addition of brighter colors, recent official content showcases a more diverse and relaxed visual tone.[8]

Key Categories

Originally centered on menswear, the product range has broadened significantly over ten years:

• T-Shirts: Frequently feature logos, the Paper Bag Man, illustrations, typography, graphics, and seasonal themes.
• Hoodies: A staple aligning with the street-casual positioning, often showcasing signature graphics.
• Jackets and Outerwear: Including windbreakers and padded coats, tracing back to the brand’s inaugural release.
• Shirts: Recent releases have diversified into thematic designs, such as a “dessert shirt” promoted in 2026, indicating a shift away from exclusively dark street aesthetics.[9]
• Trousers: Encompassing casual pants and athletic-style bottoms.
• Lifestyle Extensions: Products have gradually evolved toward a more complete lifestyle wardrobe.

dangerouspeople is widely classified as a celebrity brand due to its inseparable association with Joker Xue. However, navigating this identity has been a central challenge. Xue explicitly stated early on that he did not want the brand to rely solely on fan purchases but aimed for acceptance among general consumers.[10] This highlights the dual nature of DSP as both a personal asset of Joker Xue and an independent streetwear label. These identities are mutually supportive yet inherently tense.

Xue is not merely a figurehead; he actively participates in brand content and development. During the 2025 tenth anniversary, official channels released a creative director interview featuring Xue, framing the decade-long journey from the first Paper Bag Man to the present as a core narrative.[10] Thus, his role is accurately defined as founder, creative director, and central figure rather than just an endorser.

2015: Establishment

On October 13, 2015, dangerouspeople launched primarily as an online menswear retailer.

2016–2017: Rising Prominence

As Joker Xue’s entertainment career surged, the brand gained significant attention. Media and streetwear circles began discussing DSP beyond the “celebrity clothing” niche, recognizing it within the broader Chinese streetwear landscape. By 2017, design publications described it as a domestic streetwear brand with substantial recognition.[11]

2017: Narrative Consolidation

The combination of the Paper Bag Man, world peace, and social satire became pronounced. “World Peace” emerged as a defining spiritual keyword for the brand.

2020–2022: E-commerce Expansion

The brand developed a multi-platform sales ecosystem. Official channels listed availability on Tmall, Douyin, Taobao, Dewu (Poizon), JD.com, and Pinduoduo.

2024: Quality Controversy

In January 2024, Shanghai market regulators announced a batch of non-compliant down jackets, including a short down jacket sold by Shanghai Yanxun Trading Co., Ltd. under the DANGEROUS PEOPLE label. Reports indicated the product failed standards regarding filling material testing. This incident highlighted that supply chain management, quality control, and consumer experience remain critical factors influencing the brand’s reputation beyond celebrity appeal and design discourse.

2025: Tenth Anniversary

Marking a decade of operations, the brand described its evolution from a small workshop to a label accompanied by a loyal consumer base. Official announcements teased a “first spokesperson” and the “next decade.” In October 2025, the release of the tenth-anniversary creative director interview formally positioned the milestone as a relaunch point.

2026: Continued Operations

As of August 2026, dangerouspeople continues to release new collections. Official accounts posted new apparel and launch information throughout June and July 2026, confirming ongoing product updates post-anniversary.

The visual system comprises several key elements: the Paper Bag Man as the central character; the DSP abbreviation; the dangerouspeople wordmark; the “World Peace” slogan; the foundational black-and-white aesthetic; and street graphics including graffiti, illustration, and typography. The juxtaposition of the aggressive name “Dangerous” with the seemingly harmless Paper Bag Man remains the brand’s most memorable visual hook.

Philosophically, the brand explores themes of identity, misunderstanding, individuality, peace, rebellion against simplistic social definitions, and comfort in daily wear.[12] Unlike pure conceptual art, the clothing emphasizes wearability and leisure attributes.

dangerouspeople occupies the mid-to-upper-mid-tier segment of Chinese streetwear. Early data placed standard items in the hundreds of RMB range, with shirts and outerwear priced higher.[16] Consumer discussions frequently compare its pricing to other domestic streetwear labels. Specific prices fluctuate based on season, collection, materials, and promotions, making historical pricing an unreliable indicator for current retail costs.

Unlike global heritage streetwear brands like BAPE, Supreme, or Stüssy, dangerouspeople followed a distinct trajectory: establishing a strong personal IP via the founder before building a clothing brand around it. Its value chain flows from Joker Xue’s influence to the Paper Bag Man visual IP, then to brand storytelling, apparel products, and finally to independent brand recognition among fans and streetwear consumers.

Within the context of Chinese celebrity brands—which include CLOT (Edison Chen), MADNESS (Shawn Yue), STAYREAL (Ashin), and PHANTACi (Jay Chou)—dangerouspeople is distinguished by its specific fusion of the Paper Bag Man, Joker Xue, and social satire.

The brand has ventured beyond apparel through cross-category collaborations, such as an early partnership with Edifier to produce Bluetooth speakers featuring dangerouspeople branding.[13] Such initiatives signal attempts to expand the Paper Bag Man from a clothing logo to a broader lifestyle IP.

Commercially, dangerouspeople adopted an internet-first e-commerce model from inception, planning high-frequency product drops.[14] The current multi-platform distribution strategy spans major Chinese marketplaces including Tmall, Taobao, Douyin, Dewu, JD.com, and Pinduoduo.[15] The business model integrates brand IP, design development, e-commerce sales, social media propagation, and the founder’s personal influence.

Discourse surrounding dangerouspeople typically focuses on three areas:

1. Celebrity Dependency: Persistent debate exists over whether consumers purchase the clothing for its design or solely for Joker Xue’s IP, a common challenge for all celebrity-led labels.
2. Polarized Design Reviews: Supporters praise the recognizable Paper Bag Man and accessible youthful style, while critics argue certain periods relied too heavily on generic streetwear tropes lacking originality. Media critiques in 2018 specifically questioned aspects of DSP’s design and pricing.
3. Product Quality: The 2024 down jacket inspection failure raised tangible concerns about whether celebrity prestige translates to superior manufacturing standards.[17]

Despite these challenges, the brand’s most significant achievement is arguably the creation of the Paper Bag Man as an independently recognizable symbol separate from Joker Xue himself. Many celebrity brands fail because the star is the logo; dangerouspeople successfully established a secondary identity where the character equals the brand.

Looking forward, the primary challenge for the second decade is transitioning from “Joker Xue’s brand” to a truly independent entity that attracts consumers unfamiliar with the founder. With ten years of history, established IP, and infrastructure in place, achieving genuine maturity requires building recognition beyond the existing fanbase.

The tenth anniversary marks a clear demarcation line. Official communications now reference the “next decade,” signaling renewed ambition.[18] Product content has also shifted; whereas early keywords were darkness, street culture, and social satire, recent offerings embrace lighter, cuter, and more quotidian themes. The appearance of lifestyle-oriented designs like the 2026 “dessert shirt” suggests a transition toward a more holistic, everyday youth fashion brand, albeit one still rooted in the Paper Bag Man DNA.[19]

The official Weibo account remains active under the dangerouspeople name, operated by Shanghai Yanxun Trading Co., Ltd.[20] This account lists authorized purchasing channels across Tmall, Taobao, Douyin, Dewu, JD.com, and Pinduoduo. Consumers seeking authentic merchandise are advised to access stores through these official listings rather than third-party search results.

1. Dangerous People _ 百科
2. DangerousPeople的微博_微博
3. 好的，老板！我们会继续努力的！感谢所有朋… 来自DangerousPeople – 微博
4. DANGEROUSPEOPLE® 品牌声明 坚守品质初心，… 来自DangerousPeople – 微博
5. Dangerous People:來源,細節,風格,價格,意義,_中文百科全書
6. Dangerous People——世界和平-艺术设计
7. Joker Xue Grabbing The Men’S Wear Market Will Push Dangerous People Men’S Wear Brand.
8. 新品太多根本发不过来！！！ 图里这些已… 来自DangerousPeople – 微博
9. DangerousPeople的微博_新浪新闻
10. 最头条 | 除了上上谦、UUJULY…薛之谦还有家Dangerous People！
11. 怎样看待薛之谦的dangerouspeople潮牌？
12. 小马挂件即将上新_新浪新闻
13. 一些镜头外的真心「DSP十周年限时店」活动已圆满落幕，感谢所有新老朋友的相聚，感谢每一位“进来坐坐”的你当主理人@薛之谦 认真讲述这十年旅程时我们记录下这些珍贵的瞬间未来，故事继续#dangerouspeople# #薛之谦dsp# _新浪新闻
14. DangerousPeople的微博_微博
15. Dangerous people薛之谦dsp卫衣深度测评：立体绣设计，潮流百搭舒适体验_时尚_品牌
16. 新的计划 来自DangerousPeople – 微博
17. @柯柯葵兔_:咱也是时尚了一把@DangerousPeople 桃子圈
18. news.cn
19. 薛之谦服装品牌羽绒服抽查不合格！最新回应→_产品_上海市_生产
20. 连夜道歉：退钱，叫停生产！薛之谦翻车了_产品_品牌_上海市