Outside of certain select circles such as celebrities, rappers / hip hop stars, and a few select other circles Bape is virtually unknown. Its over the top styles and bold colors can be perceived to be strange to outsiders, but remember those who wear Bape live Bape. Bape in Japan The clothing brand originates in Tokyo, Japan where a designer by the name of Nigo. Nigo began the A Bathing Ape brand in a simple fashion, starting out by selling tee shirts out of a small store in Harajuku, Japan which was known as Nowhere Inc. He later started more stores and the Bape brand rose quickly within Japan by offering a costly brand of tee shirts and hoodies with original and inspired designs much to the liking of the youth in Japan with the income to purchase these Bape hoodies, tee shirts, and BapeStas. Bape in the United States It was only a matter of time before Bape had to expand markets to the USA to the heartland of rap and hip hop which inspired Bape. Because of partnering with famous rapper Pharrel Williams and starting a new line of clothing Billionaire Boys Club or BBC a new brand in the USA originated out of A Bathing Ape. Alongwith BBC clothing, the Ice Cream Footwear label began in the USA accompanied by a New Bathing Ape store or “Busy Work Shop” which ope
ned in Manhattan New York City. Soon after its launch in the USA Bape saw a rise in popularity similar to that of Japan, by use of the American media through Rap and Hip Hop music videos where stars were seen wearing the famous bape, bbc, or ice cream clothing consumers in the states could not wait to get their hands on a Bape hoody, or tee, or pair of kicks. However, supplies of Bape were very limited and the prices were driven up by the demand to result in the creation of another industry back in Asia... Fake Bape or "Fape" As Bape in authentic form is only cotton and ink for hoodies and tee shirts and basic air force one style shoes it was very easy and natural for fake bapes to come into production in China. Add in the exclusivity and 300$, 600$, 1000$ price tags of authentic Bape which costs maybe a few dollars to make consumers were ready to purchase a fake for maybe 100$ tops rather than purchase a rare authentic for maybe 10 times that price. Today, fake bape or fape is a far larger business than the authentic Bape largely due to the fact that the quality is often the same and the copies are available at a fraction of the price and even include some popular styles and variations that the authentic does not. If you see someone wearing A Bathing Ape walking down the street chances are it is a fake product due to the intensely high ratio of fake to real products.