Where Did A Bathing Ape Streetwear Brand Get Its Name ? Why ?

Famous Streetwear Brand A Bathing Ape and It's Name

 

A Bathing Ape (ア・ベイジング・エイプ A Beijingu Eipu) (or BAPE) is a Japanese clothing brand founded by Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) in Ura-Harajuku in 1993.

 

Origin of the Name

 "I was spending my evenings with my friend Shin, when one evening we were watching a TV program called 'Yo!! Rap City', I told Shin that I was going to start a clothing line. Shin suggested we start it together.

 

They Got Their Name from a Movie

We thought more about it and one night we saw a movie called 'Planet of the Apes'. We liked it a lot. So much in fact, the next day we met up and decided to take some inspiration from it: we called our new brand A Bathing Ape®." Nigo, Pig Magazine, 2006

Also, BAPE is said to be inspired by the popular Japanese phrase "a bathing ape in lukewarm water", which refers to the overindulgence of Japanese youth.

Streetwear A bathing ape

Lastly

So, basically, the name is inspired by snobby youth and a movie about anarchist monkeys. Regardless, thanks to that moment in 1993, one of the greatest clothing brands to grace the planet was born.


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