A Bathing Ape

A Bathing Ape
(Bape)
	File:Bape.JPG
Company type	Private
Industry	Clothing
Founded	1993
Headquarters	Tokyo
Key people	Nigo
Website	http://www.bape.com

A Bathing Ape, or Bape, is a Japanese clothing company specializing in urban streetwear.

History

The company was started in 1993 by Nigo as a T-shirt brand, originating in the Harajuku area of Shibuya in Tokyo, becoming one of the first Japanese streetwear brands. The brand was launched out of a tiny Harajuku storefront called "BUSY WORKSHOP". Bape's logo and themes are derived from the original Planet of the Apes movies, while the brand's name is based on a common Japanese saying, "bathing in lukewarm water", describing the comfortable lifestyle of today's youth in Japan.

Bape's main focus is on clothing and the company produces a variety of clothing items, including but not limited to: shirts, polos, sweatshirts, parkas, thongs, jackets, denim, and most notably, "BapeStas," a shoe very closely resembling the Nike Air Force One.

Fame

Recently Bape has reached mainstream culture in the United States on account of popular entertainers wearing the brand, such as Mark Hoppus of +44, Pharrell Williams of hip hop production duo the Neptunes, Jay-Z, R&B singer J. Hall, Fall Out Boy and rap-artists Lil Wayne, Jin Au-Yeung, Young Jeezy, Da Banggaz, Jermaine Dupri, and The Clipse. American actress Mandy Moore has also been spotted wearing Bapestas and Bape tees. In the 90s, James Lavelle of UNKLE was originally instrumental in increasing the brand's popularity in the United Kingdom. DJ Shadow, then signed to Lavelle's Mo'Wax label was often seen wearing the brand in photos. Nigo has featured American artists, such as the lead singer of Good Charlotte and Pharrell Williams, in Bathing Ape advertisements and catalogue features. Pharrell has collaborated on a clothing (Billionaire Boys Club) and sneaker/clothing (Ice Cream Appeal) line with its designer. The Ice Cream line of shoes is produced by Reebok with input from A Bathing Ape's Nigo. Bape's popularity in the United States was cemented when he opened the first American Bape store in New York City in 2004. Bathing Ape is planning on opening a store in Los Angeles in February of 2007. New Bape Stores opened in London, Hong Kong and Taiwan in 2006. In the UK, rock artist Ian Brown is also known for wearing the clothing before other American artists populized the brand.

Marketing

Bape is known for its shrewd marketing, particularly the use of limited production runs to prompt demand for its product. Bape stores are usually difficult to find and are not typically marked with signs in an effort to maintain exclusivity. Many stores have a one product per person policy to prevent items from appearing on the black market. Bape has become so popular in Japan that it was commissioned to design a limited edition Pepsi bottle. Over the years, Bape has extended its brand from T-shirts (Baby Milo & Bathing Ape) to other apparel such as sneakers (Bape Sta sneakers are also sold in the ultra-trendy Bape-owned Foot Soldier shops), jeans and underwear. A Bathing Ape has even extended beyond clothing to a hair salon (Bape Cuts), gallery (Bape Gallery), cafe (Bape Cafe), record label (Ape Sounds) and (B)apeTV. A Bathing Ape also produces limited-edition hip hop-themed vinyl figures. Not to mention, as of June 30th, 2006, Bape plans to launch a skate team, including newcomer Tyrone Brown. Recently, Bape's Nigo has created a custom camouflage themed paint schemes for high end cars, such as a jungle camouflage Rolls-Royce Phantom and a pink on pink camouflage Bugatti Veyron.

Counterfeit

Due to the scarcity of Bape items, in conjunction with its high prices and high demand, there are a large number of counterfeit items in circulation, both on the internet and in some retail stores. Counterfeit Bape items are typically known as "Fapes," a portmanteau word merging the words "Bape" and "fake." With the sheer number of Fape items produced, the quality is becoming better and it has become increasingly difficult to spot them. As well, with the opening of a Busy Work Shop in Los Angeles at the end of 2006, Bape's exposure and Fape counterfeit products could be at an all time high.

Bape requires visitors to its website to download a stand-alone executable file. When run, this program launches a full-sized window that showcases all the Bape brands. Also be very careful on buying bathing ape products on places like eBay.

References

External links