A Bathing Ape (ア・ベイシング・エイプ, A Beishingu Eipu) (or BAPE) is a Japanese clothing brand founded by Nigo in 1993. The brand specializes in men's, women's and children's 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, New York, Taipei, Bangkok, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and Singapore. The company previously operated Bape Cuts hair salon, Bape Café, and Foot Soldier. Nigo also founded the clothing lines "AAPE", 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 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–D.M.C.