Tuesday 12 January, 2010
This Ape Bathe in Luke Warm Water
by Administrator |
Founded in 1993, A Bathing Ape, also known as Bapes, became one of the largest Japanese clothing and shoe companies in Tokyo. Bape specializes in urban and hip hop fashions that sell their product from thirty-three different stores across Japan. This hip-hop fashion is found on T-shirts, polos, sweatshirts, and hoodies just to name a few. Of course, lets not forget, last but not least, the "Bape Sta". The "Bape Sta" is a shoe that, some say, resembles that of a Nike Air Force One tennis shoe.
This tennis shoe may have gotten its inspiration from the Nike Air Force One shoe, but that does not mean it is the same shoe by any means. Bape shoes is a shoe that is genuinely unique to its counterpart. Made solely of shiny patent leather and bright colors, this shoe was never meant to be used for athletics. Rather, this shoe was designed to be limited and exclusive, being made in batches of 200, rather than that of 3,000 from Nike. That might explain why the starting price for this type of shoe would start around $200. Bapes may specialize in shoes and fashion, but the name does not stop there.
A Bathing Ape has its name on salons, music recording studios, and cafes not just in Japan, but in Hong Kong and some places in London, Taiwan, and even in good old New York.
Tomoaki Nagao, also known as Nigo and the founder of Bape, first studied fashion editing to later work as a stylist and editor for Popeye magazine. However, his desire to own his own company led him to take further actions. Such as borrowing four million yen from an acquaintance to start his first clothing company in April of '93, 'Nowhere'.
In the Japanese culture, the phrase, "a bathing ape in lukewarm water", refers to how society is spoiling and pampering the youth of Japan. This gave Nigo all the inspiration he needed to then create his first clothing brand, A Bathing Ape, later shortened to just Bape.
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