Back in 1993, Tomoaki “NIGO” Nagao founded A Bathing Ape (BAPE) in Ura-Harajuku.
With nearly two dozen stores in Japan which include BAPE, BAPE Pirate, BAPE Kids, BAPexclusive Aoyama and BAPexclusive Kyoto.
But before he founded BAPE, he was an editor and stylist for “Popeye” Magazine and he would open his first store “Nowhere” with Undercover’s Jun Takahashi in April 1, 1993.
But wanting to start his own brand, he created A Bathing Ape, inspired by the 1968 film “Planet of the Apes” and a reference to “A Bathing Ape in Lukewarm Water”, as Japanese people have daily baths in water at temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104F).
With exposure thanks to music artists such as Cornelius sporting his t-shirts (which he gave to Cornelius to wear during performances), he would make 30 to 50 shirts a week to sell and the other half to his friends.
The brand would become a popular Japanese street fashion brand with many celebrities such as Notorious B.I.G. sporting the clothing (and was not easily accessible to the masses as the price for BAPE clothing is quite expensive because the clothing was scarce, production run only fulfilled 10% of demand), but the fashion brand earned respect by BAPE fans.
And on February 2011, A Bathing Ape was sold to Hong Kong fashion conglomerate, the I.T. Group. NIGO would stay as creative director through April 2013.
While the BAPE of the ’90s and 2000’s are much different than the BAPE of today, the brand continues to thrive.
And for those who love the brand or those who are “Hypebeasts”, the store located in Ura-Harajuku brings in people from all over the world willing to throw down some major money to purchase A Bathing Ape (BAPE) merch.
Before I talk about the store, there is one major rule to visiting a BAPE store, especially the store at Ura-Harajuku. So, heed this rule and don’t question it. It’s how it is! It sucks but it’s the rule and that rule is…
NO PICTURES ALLOWED INSIDE THE STORE
OK, now we can discuss the BAPE store at Ura-Harajuku. You have the BAPE Baby Milo store at the bottom and the BAPE store at the side.
Baby Milo is the mascot for A Bathing Ape and created by Nowhere Co., Ltd. what we have at this store located in the bottom front of the building can be compared to Sanrio’s numerous characters such as Hello Kitty, Kerropi, Pochacco, Batz Maru, Gudetama and friends. In fact, Baby Milo was once promoted by Sanrio back in 2010 as a character who came from the distant future where the are no more bananas. And now he has come to the present to eat as many bananas as he can and enjoy life.
And there is the main BAPE store that many people come to visit, located at the side of the building…
I was only able to get one shot inside before being told, no photography allowed. Shoes and caps are on the side, accessories near the front register, but there are a lot of BAPE clothing, from hoodies, t-shirts and so much more.
But unfortunately there is not much I can show you but just tell you that for BAPE fans, a lot of clothing that can be seen and purchased. There are dressing rooms to try the clothing, so that’s a plus for those who worry about Japanese sizes. Try before you buy!
I was asked by a few people, especially parents who had children wanting to take them to a BAPE store and many have asked how much they can get with several hundred dollars.
And to be truthful, parents should know that BAPE merch is expensive! The cheapest things you will find are key chains and accessories, A Bathing Ape New Era hats are $100 and a lot of the clothing is $300+ (US) per item.
But for A Bathing Ape fans venturing to Tokyo, I highly recommend visiting the store at Ura-Harajuku. There is so many kinds of BAPE merch that should get a lot of fans excited. But if you intend to shop, make sure you’re ready to pay a premium and most importantly…
NO PICTURES ALLOWED INSIDE THE STORE
