History Of Bathing Ape

Interested about the hisotry of Bathing Ape? Bathing Ape (BAPE) is the brainchild of Tomoaki “Nigo” Nagao who is a Japanese music producer, co-owner of the Billionaire Boys Club fashion line, and creator of this mega popular urban clothing brand. What started out as a few T-shirts has become one of the most sought after clothing trend worldwide.

Nigo credits his parents, a nurse and billboard maker, for his mature disposition. His business influence is Hiroshi Fujiware, a designer for the Head Porter fashion brand. An interesting fact is that his name “Nigo” in Japanese means “number two” due to his physical similarity to Fujiware.

The phrase “a bathing ape” is a shortened form of the Japanese saying “to bathe in lukewarm water”. This is significant because bathing in Japan is done in extremely hot water, but using a tepid temperature is viewed as a wasteful extravagance.

Nigo studied fashion in college; afterward, he worked editorial and stylist duties for “Popeye” magazine. In April of 1993, he opened his first store “Nowhere” in trendy Harajuku, Tokyo. His brand, A Bathing Ape, is a tribute to the 1968 sci-fi movie classic “Planet of the Apes”. In the early years, to gain exposure, Bathing Ape T-shirts were given away to friends and the experimental music artist Cornelius to wear during performances.

The first Bathing Ape store was opened in January, 2005 in New York. BAPE store locations have expanded to locations in various cities including: Los Angeles, Osaka, Hong Kong, London and Singapore.

The Bathing Ape clothesline has expanded to footwear, hoodies, jeans and jackets. Celebrities that have worn the ultra-hip clothes ware include: Lupe Fiasco, Jay-Z, Caio Von Menezes, Mitchel Musso, Teriyaki Boyz, Wale and others.

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Neomarxisme - Nigo