Breaking Down: Bapes
by William Rochefort
Brand
Bape, also known as A Bathing Ape, is a Japanese brand that targets the
Urban and hip-hop fashion scene. As well as selling clothing, the
company also owns hair salons and music labels which all help to
compliment the brand. The company was founded in 1993 and has rapidly
gained popularity throughout Asia and the western world. The company
now has boutique stores in New York, Taiwan and London as well as
having members-only shops and a record label among its many assets
throughout the world.
The man who started the company is
called Tomoaki Nagao - he is known under the alias Nigo - says that his
main reasons for starting the company was the inspiration that he took
from his parents. As well as being influenced by his parents, one of
whom was a nurse and another a marketer, Hiroshi Fujiwara was also a
large influence despite being a designer in a far earlier period in
Japanese fashion and culture and there being a lack of obvious
similarities between their works. The nickname, Nigo, means number 2 in
Japanese and the name of his stores is directly pulled from the film
Planet of The Apes. The company, unlike major fashion brands of today,
was not started on a major budget. They gave t-shirts away to
inspirational music figures and used that as a means of gaining viral
exposure. This worked very well, and quickly pushed demand for the
clothing well above supply. This was a deliberate move by Nigo, who
felt he would later reap the rewards for making his clothing hard to
come by.
The company sells a wide variety of clothing including
jackets, sweatshirts, jeans and also their own brand of shoe - Bape Sta
- which has been compared to Nike trainers in appearance. The urban
wear is seen as fashionable and a cultural statement by teenagers and
young adults alike.
The company's individualism and unique
approach can be best depicted by their company website. Rather than
having any information, the stylish one page site invites only one
action on their website - to download an application. The application
then has music and slick graphics, which helps to re-enforce the unique
style that Nigo has managed to attach to the brand.
Nigo
started the company with one idea that he wanted to be central to
everything - the customer should feel grateful for being allowed to buy
his product, rather than the other way round.
One of the ways
this idea was driven home was through the limited production of all
items that are sold. Not only does this make higher costs more
justifiable, it also means that celebrity figures are happy to wear the
clothes because they know the chances are low that anyone else will be
seen wearing the same thing. Bape is a unique brand that has the
respect of fashion gurus and marketing experts alike. For years into
the future it is safe to say that Bape will continue to gain mindshare
and grow as a company.