Back in the late '90s A Bathing Ape was one of fashion’s best kept secret. A Japanese streetwear label with impeccable connections, their tee-shirts were on all the right people. Namely, James Lavelle, Mo Wax, and that whole British crossover scene.
As the new millennium got under way BAPE stepped it up a notch and took its business model to the USA. While boutique shops sprung up in Japan, company founder Nigo fell in with The Neptunes and Kanye West, using their talents to
take his house band, Teriyaki Boyz, to the top of the charts. Behind the scenes, he was collaborating with Pharrell Williams on the launch of two new labels –
Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream.
Five years, several collections and a
whole lot of money later, Nigo has just released BAPE’s latest lookbook. It features him modeling the new range in his own home and, yeah, that’s about it. [tumbleweeds blowing across screen]
A new line from BAPE used to mean overexcited blog posts, overexcited fashion nerds lining up to get a limited edition tee-shirt for $200 and general overexcited-ness. These days? Meh.
Serious question: is BAPE over? Discuss.
More at
bape.com.