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Since its inception in 1993, Japanese streetwear brand BAPE has become one of the most recognizable labels in contemporary culture. The brand is renowned for its camo graphic and iconic ape head logo, but is equally celebrated for its collaborations with established international brands and reputable artists alike. The brand’s tongue-in-cheek treatment of its customers is perhaps what best characterizes the essence of BAPE, as it aims to bring Japanese fashion culture to the masses by way of a youthful, consumptive audience.

In the beginning, BAPE was a true rarity, with its limited drops and high prices only being accessible to those that knew of it in closed circles ? friends would travel to Japan and buy T-shirts and magazines, before passing on their hard-earned treasures to their peer group. Initially, this scarcity was both a financial necessity and a deliberate design choice by founder Nigo, who wanted his brand to be exclusive and highly sought-after.

The late ’90s are often considered to be BAPE’s golden era, with the brand’s products quickly selling out in Japan and fashion-savvy figures like The Notorious B.I.G wearing their merch on tour, giving the label a healthy dose of kudos in hip-hop culture. NIGO capitalized on this newfound popularity by introducing a subsidiary line of the brand called Human Made, which delved into Nigo’s fascination with vintage American workwear and was produced in conjunction with Warehouse Japan.

In more recent times, the brand has moved to make itself more available and affordable in order to appeal to a wider audience. Aside from a flagship store in New York, there are now numerous BAPE shops across the globe, with London’s Selfridge department store decked out in their signature neon and camo, as well as END.’s two brick-and-mortar locations in Newcastle and Glasgow. Moreover, major streetwear retailers such as Concepts Boston and RSVP Chicago are certified stockists of BAPE, while the West Coast’s Undefeated has got their bases covered with its own BAPE stores.

BAPE also recently introduced a new sub-label, AAPE by A Bathing Ape, designed to cater specifically to the Asian market. The AAPE by A Bathing Ape collections differ slightly in design language from the mainline, but still maintain an air of exclusivity that has kept the brand’s fan base strong.

The brand’s popularity is also partly due to its ability to tap into current trends and create a whole new style of clothing all its own. A few years back, during the Raf Simons and Rick Owens hype, BAPE responded by releasing its own blacked-out collection, aptly named AAPE Black. https://userscloud.com/bfj0iocbphy5 The resulting apparel was sleek, extended silhouettes, draped layers and minimalist graphics, all of which has since become a staple of the modern streetwear scene. https://www.4shared.com/office/o_Sto1xkge/BAPE__A_Bathing_Apehlxdd.html It’s hard to imagine the scene without BAPE.