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BAPE
A Bathing Ape, or BAPE, was founded in 1993 by Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao). As well as clothing design, the brand offers a wide range of sneakers as well.
BAPE-STA sneakers have gained a lot of popularity and even caused a lawsuit with Nike for a few design similarities.
A Bathing Ape's designs are easily recognisable by their ape logo and ABC CAMO motif. Bold colours, cartoonish designs, and lots of motifs are used in the clothing collections.
The History of BAPE
1993
Producer and DJ Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) founded A Bathing Ape in Ura-Harajuku, Japan.
"A Bathing Ape" originates from the saying "a bathing ape in lukewarm water," which refers to young people who live complacent and sheltered lives only concerned with passing exams.
In the beginning, the brand printed dozens of shirts that soon spread throughout Japan.
1998
In Japan, the streetwear brand was available in 40 stores just five years after its founding. Nigo changed all this in 1998 when he halted sales at all but one location.
Within months, sales in that one store were as good as when BAPE was still sold in 40 stores. In retrospect, BAPE benefited from this bold decision, which contributed to the brand's exclusivity.
Early 2000s
A Bathing Ape was at its peak. Several campaigns were launched by the brand, including a commercial with Pepsi in 2002.
Many of BAPE's garments were adorned with the well-known ABC-CAMO motif, which was worn by artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams, Notorious B.I.G. and Robin Williams.
Several music videos used the popular "Shark" hoodie.
2002
BAPE introduces the BAPE STA sneaker. A Swoosh was replaced by the 'STA' logo on the centre panel, making this sneaker suspiciously similar to the Nike Air Force 1.
Over 20 years after its debut, the BAPE STA remains one of the most popular sneakers of the brand.
2007
Nigo teams up with rapper Kanye West to produce the BAPE STA "College Dropout". Inspired by the rapper's debut album, the sneaker features a bear on the upper.
Following Kanye West, names such as KAWS, Ronnie Fieg, JJJound, and Solebox released their own colorways of the BAPE STA sneaker.
BAPE Today
More than 20 years since the launch of the BAPE STA, Nike officially sued BAPE for copying the Air Force 1 design.
As well as the Air Force 1 Mid, Dunk Low, Air Jordan 1 Low and Air Jordan 1 High, other sneaker models were also claimed to have been stolen by BAPE, according to the suit.
BAPE agreed to cease production of the BAPE STA Mid, COURT STA, and COURT STA High models as a result of the lawsuit.
Latest News
Read moreDid you know?
A Bathing Ape was brought to the United States by Pharrell Williams.
The duo is still one of the most famous (and successful) streetwear and music collaborations.
Nigo Williams became Williams' friend and business partner in the 2000s and introduced BAPE to the United States.
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