A Bathing Ape (or
BAPE) is a Japanese fashion
brand founded by
Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) in
Ura-Harajuku in 1993. The brand specializes in men's, women's and children's lifestyle and street wear, running 19 stores in
Japan, including Bape Stores, Bape Pirate Stores, Bape Kids Stores, Bapexclusive
Aoyama, and Bapexclusive
Kyoto. The Kyoto store also includes Bape Gallery, a space used for various events and art shows sponsored by Bape. There are also stores located in
Hong Kong,
Taipei,
Beijing,
Shanghai,
Guangzhou,
Chengdu,
Qingdao,
Shenyang,
Seoul,
Jakarta,
Dubai,
New York City,
Kuala Lumpur,
London,
Paris,
Miami and
Los Angeles.
The company previously operated (Busy Work Shop), Bape Cuts hair salon, Bape Café, BABY MILO and The cay Soldier. Nigo also founded the secondary lines
AAPE (by A Bathing Ape) and
BAPY (Busy Working Lady). In 2011, the company was sold to Hong Kong fashion conglomerate
I.T Group for about $2.8 Million. Nigo left the brand in 2013.
History
Nigo, founder and former owner, cites his mother and father, who were a nurse and a billboard maker respectively, as major influences in the development of his character, though because they both worked, he spent a lot of time alone with toys. He also credits DJ/fashion guru
Hiroshi Fujiwara as his business model. His nickname means "number two" in Japanese; the MD of Astoarobot, the fashion store, coined the moniker when he noted the physical resemblance to Fujiwara. Nigo cites his early influences as
Elvis,
The Beatles and
hip-hop acts such as
Beastie Boys and
Run–D.M.C.[4]
After studying fashion editing at Bunka Fashion college, he worked as an editor and a stylist for
Popeye magazine. After borrowing four million yen from an acquaintance, who also let him use his shop,
[4] he opened "Nowhere", his first store, along with
Jun Takahashi of Undercover, on April 1, 1993, in
Ura-Harajuku.
Deciding to start his own brand, he named it after the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. According to Nigo, the name "BAPE" is a reference to "A Bathing Ape in Lukewarm Water". Japanese people typically have daily baths in water at temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F). As such, to bathe in lukewarm water is to complacently overindulge as it implies you have stayed in the bath for so long the water has become cold. This is an ironic reference to the lazy opulence of the younger generation of Japanese, the brand's own customers.[4] To expose the brand he gave T-shirts to the musician
Cornelius who wore them when performing. For two years he produced 30 to 50 shirts a week, selling half and giving half to friends. In 1997, Nigo released his debut album
Ape Sounds under
Mo'Wax, with DJ/Producer
James Lavelle of
UNKLE. Nigo is also co-owner and head designer of
Pharrell Williams' clothes brands
Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream.
if that’s the origin then cool.
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