14-05-2025
Ksubi designer Dan Single reveals he was 'dead for ten minutes' after fall from Paris hotel balcony as he makes shock return to limelight at Australian Fashion Week with racy art installation
Dan Single has returned to the spotlight with a bang after several years living quietly following a horror fall from a balcony that almost took his life.
The Ksubi designer staged an art installation at Australian Fashion Week on Tuesday night to promote his new book, The Diary of a Naughtie Kid.
The 47-year-old, who has rarely discussed his March 2017 accident which happened at an upscale Paris hotel, on Wednesday revealed that he 'died for ten minutes' after the fall, which left him in a coma.
'It made me stop, slow down and think about what I want in my life,' the designer told Confidential.
'I had a chance to start fresh and I have used that second chance to be of service and help to inspire.'
His book, which features photos and ephemera such as love letters, hate mail and newspaper clippings from Dan's reign in the fashion world in the 2000s, he says is a 'a little snapshot in time when it was a magical moment to be alive'.
The book is dedicated to his teenage son, Justice, 18, who he shares with P.E Nation designer Pip Edwards.
'I made this book for my son, Justice, who is way too big now and for the next generation to show them you don't need permission or training to create' Dan said.
'It is not a life story, it is not even close … this captures a brief moment in time, the noughties. A moment in time when everything felt new, like there were no rules.'
The installation launching The Diary of a Naughtie Kid, which was attended by several hundred audience members at Carriageworks in Sydney, featured a heavily tattooed woman sitting upon a tin foil wrapped couch surrounded by images from the tome.
Dan fell 35 metres from the fourth-storey balcony of Hotel Grand D'Amour in Paris in March, 2017.
The accident saw him plunge several storeys, shattering his legs and leaving him in a coma for eight days.
The Daily Telegraph first reported Dan's fall, with a source telling the publication at the time: 'His legs are a complete mess; he won't be walking for a very long time.
'He is not in a good way. It's expected both he and Bambi will have to stay over there for quite a while because he's not able to fly.'
His book, which features photos and ephemera such as love letters, hate mail and newspaper clippings from Dan's reign in the fashion world in the 2000s, he says is a 'a little snapshot in time when it was a magical moment to be alive'
The following month, Dan created a Go Fund Me page, writing that he's 'been given a second lease at life.'
'It all sounds awful but the guy writing this mail has been given a second lease at life and is SO grateful, inspired and excited to be back soon,' he wrote on the page.
'I am also lucky to have my family here by [my] side, wife, mother, brother and at least a visitor a day.'
Dan said at the time that he was hoping to raise $250,000 to help pay for his recovery and any associated costs.
'Help fund the hospital bill, rehab bill, early flights home, being unable to make bread and work over the next [few] months and all the incidentals the family is covering at the moment,' Dan added.
The entrepreneur also clarified that the media reports were correct, and that he shattered 'every bone from my feet to my hips and pelvis.'
'I fell three floors (35 metres) out of my hotel room in Paris, did a summersault and landed on my feet which saved my spine and my brain (a miracle says the doctor, one in 100 million chance).'
Dan added about his recovery: 'I have been in a coma for two weeks, had eight operations and am covered in pins and bolts in my bones.'
'I cannot use my legs for another month or two so will be in a rehab centre in Paris recovering.'
Single was labelled 'pathetic' for asking the public to raise the $250,000 to help cover his medical bills.
An anonymous donor said: 'How come you can fund partying, drinking and overseas trips but not your own recovery?'
'I'll give you $5 with the sole intent of telling you what an idiot everyone thinks you are.'
Single later removed the crowdfunding campaign after it was met with an avalanche of abuse with the former BRW Young Rich-lister labelled 'disgusting' by commenters.
Single announced his his split with then-wife Bambi Northwood-Blyth in March 2018, exactly twelve months after his Paris balcony fall.
Bambi tied the knot with Dan in Byron Bay in January 2014, with Bambi becoming a step-mother to Dan's son Justice, 10, at the age of 22.
