Bape

Website:http:///www.bape.com

Introduction
A Bathing Ape (or BAPE) is a Japanese clothing company founded by Nigo in 1993. The company specializes in men's, women's and kids' lifestyle and street wear, running 19 stores in Japan, including Bape Stores, Bape Pirate Stores, Bape Kids Stores, Bapexclusive Aoyama, and Bapexclusive Kyoto. The Kyoto store also includes Bape Gallery, a space used for various events and art shows sponsored by Bape. There are also stores located in Hong Kong, London, New York, Taipei, Paris, Shanghai, Seoul and Singapore. The company previously operated Bape Cuts hair salon, Bape Café, and Foot Soldier. Nigo also founded the women's clothing lines "APEE" (currently defunct), and "BAPY" (resurrected in 2010), the female "couture" clothing line.

History
Nigo, founder and owner, cites his mother and father, who were a nurse and a billboard maker respectively, as major influences in the development of his character. Though because they both worked, he spent a lot of time alone with toys. He also credits DJ/fashion guru Hiroshi Fujiwara as his business model. His nickname literally means "number two" in Japanese; the MD of Astoarobot, the fashion store, coined the moniker when he noted the physical resemblance to Fujiwara. Nigo cites his early influences as Elvis, The Beatles and hip-hop acts such as Beastie Boys and Run DMC.he opened "Nowhere", his first store, on April 1, 1993 in Harajuku, Tokyo. Deciding to start his own brand, he named it after the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. According to Nigo, the name "BAPE" is short for "A Bathing Ape In Lukewarm Water".
After studying fashion editing at college, he worked as an editor and a stylist for Popeye magazine. After borrowing four million yen from an acquaintance, who also let him use his shop
Bape is a popular brand among celebrities, with many international celebrities appearing in magazines and catalogs wearing Bape's clothing

Design
A Bathing Ape clothing is well recognized around the world due to its flashy designs and 'original artwork'. Bape frequently collaborates with other brands and features characters from popular media such as SpongeBob Squarepants, Marvel comics characters, Nintendo, DC Comics, and Hello Kitty and the Sanrio Family. These designs are used throughout the Bathing Ape range, on goodies, accessories, hoodies, jackets, t-shirts and shoes. A Bathing Ape has also collaborated with many other famous brands, such as Pepsi, M*A*C, Carhartt, Casio and artists such as UNKLE, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, KAWS and Gary Panter.