Collaborations We Love At BAPE

Although BAPE was not the first Japanese streetwear brand, it’s safe to say today it’s the most recognized. Its childish illustrated graphics, endless pop-culture references and, of course, infamous camo, have slowly shaped not only Japanese men’s fashion but menswear in general. Even after NIGO’s departure, BAPE remains at the center of the cultural conversation for one reason: collaboration, largely due to his outsized influence and relationships with menswear’s most noteworthy individuals, including Hiroshi Fujiwara and Pharrell.

In this regard, A Bathing Ape is arguably Supreme’s only true rival, since it has worked with almost everyone. Founded by a true pop culture junkie and notorious collector, BAPE has never been afraid to experiment, and for many years, NIGO’s wacky, unanticipated and undoubtedly perfect partnerships inspired BAPE.

NIGO’s laundry list of hobbies influenced BAPE to create dolls, watches, sneakers, and even soda years before Supreme. BAPE broke down the boundary of what even defined a collaboration. In no doubt, BAPE is responsible for collaborations becoming industry de rigeur. Here’s a breakdown of the best BAPE collaborations so far.

BAPE X Kid Cudi (2009-Present)

BAPE’s hip-hop ties are legendary. The earliest BAPE customers included rappers like Biggie, Lil Wayne, and Wise who were part of Teriyaki Boyz, an iconic Japanese rap crew.

It’s Kid Cudi’s long-standing relationship with the Japanese label that stands out amongst Kanye West and Pharrell’s lookbooks.

A former BAPE employee—Kid Cudi worked at the label’s SoHo, New York store before launching his rap career—the rapper was also a noted fan, who obsessed with the brand during high school and famously applied for the store four times before landing it. The following promotional tour was Kid Cudi’s first mixtape, recorded while still a BAPE employee. Kid Cudi collaborated with his former employer on a line of T-Shirts celebrating himself a year later. Each shirt featured a different animated Kid Cudi, decked head-to-toe in BAPE apparel, including Bapesta sneakers and full-zip shark hoodies. As one of hip-hop’s most fashionable stars, the shirts are still coveted by collectors today.

Since the original release, Kid Cudi and BAPE have reunited several times, most recently at ComplexCon in summer 2016. Exclusively for convention attendees, the reunion sold for thousands of dollars today. Another collaboration is rumored to drop later this year, making this long-standing partnership one of BAPE’s most coveted collaborations.

Modernica X BAPE (2009-Present)

As far as unexpected collaborations go, this wins. A set of fiberglass chairs featuring BAPE’s iconic camo was produced in 2009 by Los Angeles based furniture company Modernica.

A huge success, the Case Study Side Shell chairs are based on Charles and Ray Eames’ original 1948 design for Herman Miller. Modernica does not hold the official Eames license, but the clear design coupled with the infamous pattern was intriguing. Combining classic with contemporary was always one of NIGO’s hallmarks, and the collaboration was clearly a success.

The two brands have collaborated several times since 2009, not just on Case Study Chairs, but also on a fold-out metal side table and a wooden coffee table, utilizing classic Mid-Century and Contemporary designs with a BAPE twist. Recent releases include a wooden side table with steel hairpin legs and a new take on the Case Study Side Shell. With a proprietary process, the 2019 “LA CAMO” chair featured a white, pink, yellow and blue camo pattern that was set between the two layers of fiberglass rather than printed on the exterior, meaning it will never fade

In celebration of LA BAPE’s 1-year anniversary, the chair was available only at the LA BAPE flagship and Modernica showroom, where it sold out immediately. An impressive feat for a near-$700 device. For those lucky enough to snag a chair, they can be easily flipped for twice that.

BAPE X Star Wars (2011-Present)

As soon as BAPE announced its collaboration with the Star Wars franchise in 2011, it was, oddly enough, a huge deal. The 2011 capsule collection was still a landmark event, one of the most noteworthy streetwear and film collaborations so far—Episode III was released in 2005, and the third trilogy, beginning with Episode VII, wasn’t announced until some time after.

Star Wars films and memorabilia were among NIGO’s many pop-culture obsessions at the time (even though his role had shrunk following the launch of Human Made in 2010). To license various LucasFilm characters, the brand approached the estate. Almost everyone appeared on BAPE T-shirts, including Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and R2-D2.

Throughout the years, BAPE has reissued the graphics to celebrate film releases, anniversaries, and even figurine releases. With a new series of films in development, a Disney+ show, and various anniversaries coming up, more Star Wars collaborations are sure to follow.

‘Supreme X BAPE’ (2002) By Supreme

Supreme and BAPE shared a lot in 2002. Despite Supreme being a skate shop (at the time) and BAPE being a fashion-lifestyle brand, the similarities between them-including limited distribution and limited publicly-available information-transformed into plenty of crossover appeal between the two brands.

While BAPE was quickly expanding, it was still a part of the Urahara scene and, for those not living in Tokyo, was almost impossible to purchase. Like Supreme at the time, BAPE was an insider’s brand, co-signed by major artists and sneaker heads. The similarities made a collaboration inevitable.

Supreme produced 15 unique camouflage patterns with BAPE in 2002. BAPE’s infamous box logo T-shirts featured the custom BAPE-head camos, along with a BAPE sleeve tag-standard issue for any BAPE T-shirt to this day. Designed for BAPE and Supreme stores throughout Japan (at that time, there were three) and the New York Supreme flagship, few know how many exist of each color, though secondhand price is a good indication of rarity. BAPE’s OG streetwear credentials are proven by this early collaboration, despite two wildly different brand trajectories.

(2006) BAPE X Carhartt Collaboration

Considering Carhartt’s current cultural status, this collaboration is a no-brainer. Although everyone is clamoring for vintage Detroit jackets and work pants, outside of the European higher-end WIP line, there was little fanfare for the work wear brand when it first came out in 2006. However, NIGO’s passion for American work wear, which he later showed off via Human Made, did not dissuade him.

Working with Levi’s was an obvious choice for a man with one of the world’s largest Levi’s archives, and the resulting collection of jackets, pants, vests, and truckers in various camo colorways was an enticing mix of Carhartt craftsmanship and BAPE’s bold aesthetic.

Many BAPE collectors consider the Carhartt collection to be a grail, with pants and jackets regularly fetching four-figure sums on Grailed. When considering the brand’s age and availability, this is one of the greatest collaborations the brand has ever done.

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