Great name. But what does it mean? Well after a long day, sometimes an Ape just likes to relax, run a bath and put Magic FM on, you know? It actually comes from the owners; some would say unhealthy, addiction to Planet of the Apes. A Bathing Ape is commonly known as BAPE and was started in Japan in 1993 by a dude called “Nigo”. BAPE is innovation to the core. From it’s early years in Japan, Nigo would open stores for a limited time only, calling them “Nowhere” before they would disappear again, never to be seen. This creates the whole “limited edition vibe” that clings to BAPE like aftershave.
Nigo’s pink Veyron
Well, as stated above, BAPE is a Japanese brand. A bit of non-numerical maths would lead you to lots of Ape symbols and loads of colours, which is pretty much spot on. The clothes are all limited edition and high, high quality. A pair of Jeans is £200 easy, and a T-Shirt can hit £85 without breaking a sweat. But after BAPE was worn and endorsed by Pharrel Williams, would you expect it to be cheaper?
There is only one place to buy BAPE in the UK, and last time we checked, one of only a few in Europe. They don’t have a concession in Selfridges, or anything beneath them like that! If you do wander through the bouncer bound doors, make sure you have practiced that non-surprised look on your face when you flip open the price tag. The walking away without anything part is always the hardest to pull off though, because you are trying to say “they had nothing I wanted today” but inside your dreaming of owning those damn Jeans!
- Darren Kingman
