South African Fashion | Tshirts | Design & Designers T-shirts

Who are you calling A Bathing Ape?

So how many of you out there have heard of the clothing label called A Bathing Ape…chances are if you haven’t been locked in a dark room for the past 5 years or so you would have heard of the company….perhaps if I say the name BAPE you will click a lil easier.
A Bathing Ape, or BAPE for short, has been a funky underground mainstay since its creator Nagao Tomoaki (affectionately known as Nigo) first released BAPE to the underground Japanese market at parties and DJ shows back in the early 90’s.
Back then if you wanted to buy some awesome BAPE merchandise you would have to hunt high and low down the alleys of Harajuku in Tokyo.
Eventually A Bathing Ape was released in its first store front window in the Harajuku shop called Busy Workshop.

A Bathing Ape clothing has become hugely popular all over the world in the last 5 years.
Fuelled by hip hop scene celebrities like Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Pharrell William.
A Bathing Ape has crashed through the rather selective funky community of its roots and has burst onto the world scene…to a point many will say has become “ultra commercial”.
After the Japanese had become obsessed and incorporated BAPE into their local funk culture, the rest of the world opened up their eyes and started to take real notice of the amazingly colourful designs that BAPE had become renowned for in the East.

These days BAPE has more than 25 sales outlets around the globe, from New York to London…it seems everybody has gone BAPE crazy.
One of our readers called Rashaun recently commented that BAPE is now part of a commercial “bar hoping survival kit”.
I thought this description was not only hilarious, but spot on as far as the South African BAPE following is at the moment.
It seems as if the South African market has totally flooded by cheap knock off BAPE merchandise, which is honestly really sad, especially when you know what Nigo’s vision is in regards to the label.
Nigo regulates the sale of A Bathing Ape merchandise by following a strict list of criteria, which range from limiting the number of a single item of BAPE per buyer, as well as verifying the quantities of sizes.
These and other moves help to maintain a small supply to the underground markets, thus keeping the label fresh and original….well thats the general idea at least.
Unfortunately the popularity of BAPE reflects in the massive amount of rip off artists, stealing and manufacturing their own fake BAPE gear.

Its really sad when a cool funky label that smacks of originality is blasted by people who flood the market with cheap rubbish…it really takes the unique vibe and throws it into the trash.
Imagine what the poor fashion crazed kids of Harajuku in Japan feel when they see one of their most beloved underground labels become a pale shadow of its original awesomness.

Personally I really like the funky style of A Bathing Ape and in most cases I would jump at the chance to get some original BAPE gear…however the vision I had of BAPE back in the day has been severely tarnished by the commercial factor of the clothing.
Ah well, it’s the way of the world that good ideas are bound to be copied and exploited by bad people.
Unfortunately, it’s the consumer who is also aware of BAPE’s true value that must take a stand against buying knock offs.
The oblivious who actually know nothing about the brand and think they are just getting a good deal can’t be held responsible, the dodgy manufacturers and distributors need to be sorted out first.

I hope that BAPE develops a true loyal following here in South Africa, one that values the brand and who won’t settle for cheap imitations.

Duncs.

Wanna scope out the BAPE home page?? CLICK HERE.